The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Thursday passed a unanimous resolution for the return of all migrants who have moved out of the state in the past 27 years, Greater Kashmir reported. Parties, including the Opposition National Conference, supported the resolution, which comes on the 27th anniversary of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the state.
NC Working President Omar Abdullah told the Assembly that the move favoured members of all communities seeking to return to the state. “Besides Kashmiri Pandits, people from other communities, including Sikhs, also migrated from Kashmir because of the turmoil that hit the state,” he said.
Kashmir’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister AR Veeri said the government accepted the “need to bring our people back”. “Bringing them back is what keeps our conscience alive,” he added.
Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley following the outbreak of militancy in the 1990s. The subject of repatriating them has gained significance in recent months. However, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti drew flak in May 2016 for comparing displaced Kashmiris to pigeons whom she suggested would be set upon by cats if they were brought back to the conflict-ridden state. Mufti had said the government would provide transit accommodation to the returning migrants until it was safe for them to go back to their original localities.
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