Jammu: Kashmiri Pandit authorities staff demanding relocation outdoors the Kashmir Valley within the wake of focused killings by terrorists, suspended their 310 days lengthy strike, saying they had been “surrendering” as authorities had “stopped” their salaries.
The protesters comprised Kashmiri Pandits working in several authorities departments below a first-rate minister’s employment bundle. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has neither accepted nor rejected the demand however the protest needed to be suspended as stopping of salaries is “choking us financially”, protesters affiliated to the All Migrant (Displaced) Employees Association Kashmir (AMEAK) stated. Last yr in May, following the killing of their colleagues Rahul Bhat and Rajini Bala by terrorists, many had additionally moved to Jammu from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory.
While Bhat was shot useless inside his workplace in central Kashmir’s Budgam on May 12, Bala, a college instructor, was gunned down in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on May 31 final yr.
The staff stated the core committee of AMEAK will meet to take a choice over resuming their duties within the Kashmir Valley. “We have unanimously decided to suspend the ongoing agitation and are surrendering before the government. We have projected our demand for relocation but the government neither accepted nor rejected our demand,” senior member of AMEAK Ruban Saproo informed reporters.
He stated since Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had again and again assured a safe ambiance to them within the Kashmir Valley, the core committee of the organisation determined to droop the agitation and watch for the federal government’s response.
Rohit Raina, an AMEAK member, stated that “we have only suspended the protest and the next course of action will be decided by the core committee of AMEAK”.
“Our only concern for which we had fled the Valley is our security,” he stated, accusing the administration of twisting arms by stopping their salaries.
The killing of Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Sharma by terrorists in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 27 displays the bottom scenario however “we hope that the government will ensure our security in the Valley”, Raina stated.
Neha, who was a part of the protest, stated they’re left with no choice however to “surrender” earlier than the federal government after it “stopped their salaries”.
“We do not feel safe there (in Kashmir) but nobody is listening to us. The government exploited the employees by stopping our salaries and choking us financially,” she stated.
RK Bhat, the president of Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS), an organisation of Kashmiri Pandits, urged Kashmiri Muslims to come back ahead to make sure the safety of minority Hindus dwelling within the Valley.
“The real custodian of ensuring the safety and security of the miniscule Kashmiri Pandit population in the Valley is the majority community and they have to ensure it to maintain real Kashmiriyat. Kashmiriyat is meaningless until and unless Kashmiri civil leaders, political leaders and religious preachers do not publicly and consistently denounce killings of Pandits,” Bhat informed reporters right here.
He stated Kashmiri Pandits belonged to Kashmir and the central authorities ought to contain grassroot degree management of the neighborhood for making ready a blueprint for his or her return and rehabilitation within the Valley.
“We hope the J&K Reorganization Bill, 2019, will end our miseries and reconnect our lost roots and ancestral motherland soon. We hope the process of delimitation and new arrangements should make (Kashmiri) Pandits politically empowered democratically,” he stated. Bhat additionally appealed to varied Kashmiri Pandit teams to unite for his or her rights.
“At this crucial time when our own people are again being killed, we have to rise above party lines, personal interests and affiliations to form a ‘joint action committee’ of all (Kashmiri) Pandit organisations globally and work for comprehensive rehabilitation of the entire community,” he stated.
He stated the neighborhood must be united and communicate in a single voice for a dignified return to their roots within the Valley.
