Pandits stage protest in Jammu demanding relocation of PM package employees from Kashmir

JAMMU: A group of

Kashmiri Pandits

staged a demonstration here on Wednesday in support of the demand for the relocation of the community members employed in Kashmir under the prime minister's package. Many of them are on protest following the killing of their colleague, Rahul Bhat, by terrorists earlier this month.

The protesters assembled under the banner of the newly-formed Kashmiri Pandits United Front (KPUF) in front of the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh, near the Tawi bridge in the heart of Jammu, raising slogans against the Jammu and Kashmir administration and demanding security to the community members serving in the Valley under the prime minister's package.

"We have come here to support the protesting prime minister's package employees who are demanding their relocation till the situation improves in the valley," KPUF convenor Satish Kissu, a retired government officer, said.

He said the demand of the Pandit employees is genuine, keeping in mind the killing of Bhat, who was shot dead inside his office in broad daylight in the Chadoora area of central Kashmir's Budgam district on May 12.

Condemning targeted killings by terrorists, Kissu said the security situation in the Valley is not conducive, as is evident from the latest killing of a policeman and injuries to his minor daughter outside their house in Srinagar on Tuesday.

Amid anti-Pakistan and pro-India sloganeering, the protesters accused the government of holding the prime minister's package employees hostage in the valley.

"Bhat's killing was the result of the administration's failure. He was killed because of a security lapse as his killers walked into his office and fled the scene without facing any resistance after killing him. The incident has sparked panic among the community," KPUF spokesperson Kuldeep Pandita said.

He alleged that successive governments used the Kashmiri Pandits as "scapegoats" and said, "We are not ready to tolerate atrocities against our community anymore and will continue our protest to ensure the relocation of the prime minister's package employees."