BJP’s spokesperson (J&K), Altaf Thakur, has urged the police to investigate how the list was leaked and has urged the administration to ensure the safety and security of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.
Afnan Habib | TwoCircles.net
SRINAGAR (JAMMU AND KASHMIR) — Kashmiri Pandits working in the valley have expressed fear after a militant group released a hit list of 56 employees from the community.
Recently, a blog linked to The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, published a list of 56 Kashmiri Pandit employees under Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Package (PMRP) and warned of mounting attacks on them.
The online threat letter has instilled fear among Kashmiri Pandits working in several government departments. Numerous Kashmiri Pandit organizations have called for a high-level investigation into how the details of the individuals working under the PM package at the Education Department were accessed by the terror organization.
BJP’s spokesperson (J&K), Altaf Thakur, has urged the police to investigate how the list was leaked and has urged the administration to ensure the safety and security of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.
Mr Vikas, a Kashmiri Pandit employee working under the PM’s package in J&K, told TwoCircles.net that nobody wants to leave their motherland, “but given the threat to our lives, we seek relocation to a safer location outside the Kashmir division, at least for the time being, until the government provides a safer environment for us here.”
“The Resistance Fighters have got all the details of every Migrant Hindutva Fascist ideology spreading Kashmiri Pandit and Non Locals/foreigners maligning the atmosphere of the valley. The Resistance Fighters have already put forth their points and reason for carrying out attacks on such elements, and it will continue. We once again want to warn such elements not to become pawns of the Delhi Regime and don’t become the carriers of their filthy and fascist agenda,” the threat letter reads.
Kashmiri Pandits in the valley have come under militant attack in recent times.
On August 16, Sunil Kumar Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit, was shot dead by militants in the Shopian area of J&K. His brother also got injured in the attack. According to the police, the two were working in their apple orchard at the time of the targeted attack.
On October 15, militants shot and killed Puran Krishan, a 56-year-old Kashmiri Pandit from the Shopian district. A militant organization Kashmir Freedom Fighters claimed responsibility for the attack that sparked widespread protests across the Union territory two days later.
On October 18, three days after Puran Krishan was killed, two migrant workers were killed in a grenade attack while asleep inside a rented housing they were living in at the time in Shopian.
Expressing serious concern over the threat, Sanjay Tickoo, President Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPPS), told TwoCircles.net the threat letter contains detailed information. “How was the terror group able to access that? There are loopholes. The authorities must take measures to ensure our safety.”
Afnan Habib is a freelance journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He tweets @afnanhabib_