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Hurriyat welcomes KPs return, opposes separate settlements

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 7/17/2019 11:30:34 AM

Mehbooba welcomes Geelani’s statement

SRINAGAR, Jul 16: Hurriyat Conference (G) on Tuesday welcomed the homecoming of Kashmiri Pandits who left Kashmir in the early 1990s during the outbreak of violence.
In a statement, the Hurriyat said it encouraged “every move which helps their return.” “Let them come back and live as they previously used to along with their Muslim brothers,” it said.
The Hurriyat stated that they always wanted the return of non-Muslim brothers to Kashmir. However, it has reiterated its opposition to Pandits' settlement in separate colonies, saying that it “negates the very fabric of Kashmir's social, cultural and mutual bonds.”
Commenting on Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik's statement that separate township for Pandits is not a matter of choice but out of necessity, the Hurriyat spokesman said if decision is sub-servant to compulsions, then there is every possibility of fading away from the realities under the veil and dust of compulsions which everybody can narrate according to his own choice.
Hurriyat stated that some self-centered and political opportunists exploit the victimhood of Pandits for their political gains.
In the meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the statement of hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani that “he wholeheartedly wants the Kashmiri Pandits to return and live in the valley.” Mehbooba said, “It is a sentiment that is shared by Kashmiri Muslims.”
Mehbooba, who is the former Chief Minister, said, “The vacuum created by their (Kashmiri Pandits) exodus cannot be filled unless they return with honour and dignity.”