Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to bring focus on the “return and rehabilitation” of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley. This is the first one-on-one meeting between Mehbooba and Sinha since the latter took oath as the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory five years ago.
Highlighting that any political process will remain “incomplete” without the return of the Kashmiri Pandit community, Mufti said: “It is a moral imperative and a societal responsibility to ensure that our Pandit brothers and sisters, who were tragically displaced from their homeland, are provided with the opportunity to return in a manner that is dignified, secure and sustainable”.
Stating that their return is a collective responsibility and not just that of the government alone, she presented a paper to the LG at the Raj Bhawan Monday detailing efforts that the ruling dispensation could take for the return of Kashmiri Pandits.
Mufti called Sinha’s response to her presentation “positive”, saying that he had promised to go through the document and “implement what he can”.
The move from Mufti comes a day before the Mela Kheer Bhawani, at the Kheer Bhawani temple in Central Kashmir. The annual festival attracts hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley.
In the document, Mufti states that reintegration must be both materially grounded and socially sustainable, requiring a multi-tiered and inclusive approach.
“The return of displaced individuals must be anchored in a sense of security for government employees who play a critical role in rebuilding community confidence,” she said, urging the LG that every displaced Kashmiri Pandit family should be allotted half a kanal of state land in their district of origin, contingent upon their willingness to return. This allotment should be “legally recognised with proper titles and records.”
With a view to ensure “political empowerment” of the community, the former CM said that the current nomination-based system should be replaced with two reserved constituencies in the
J&K Legislative Assembly for Kashmiri Pandits “residing in or originally from the Kashmir Valley”.
Also calling for institutional reform, Mufti also pressed for a transformation of the current relief and rehabilitation department into an autonomous, empowered body, the ‘Reconciliation and Reintegration Commission’ with a broader and more holistic mandate.
Mufti also said that the issue of transfer of employees working under the Prime Minister’s package “is very rigid” and should be made more flexible.
Meanwhile, with Eid approaching, Mufti urged the LG to consider the release of those individuals languishing in prison for “relatively less serious charges” and for those in prisons outside J&K, to be moved back to J&K.
Mufti has also marked copies of the document to Union Home Minister and chief minister Omar Abdullah. “This issue was a key concern of Mufti sahab (her father and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) and the PDP has made this an important part of its agenda,” she added.
This is the first one-on-one meeting between Mehbooba and LG since the latter took oath on August 7, 2020.
