Kashmiri Pandits have called for a shutdown on Monday against the killing of Sanjay Kumar in the Achen area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Sanjay was shot dead on Sunday morning by unidentified gunmen in the Acchen area of Pulwama district.
The incident has evoked widespread condemnation and reiterated the call for the security of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley. A group of Pandits working under the PM Package plan have been on a strike since June last year to demand security, transfer from Kashmir valley among other demands.
Following Sanjay’s killing, Shadi Lal Pandita of Soan Kashmir Front, a representative of Kashmiri Pandit community, while condemning the killing raised questions at the ‘facade of normalcy’ created by the BJP administration regarding Kashmir. He said that while the BJP had made large promises of militancy being eradicated after the semi-autonomy of the region was abrogated, militancy still persisted in the region. “How long will the pandits of Kashmir continue to lead their lives in exile from Kashmir?” he asked.
He also said that due to the wrong policies of the government, the Pandits have been in exile from Kashmir for thirty-three years, despite having ownership of land in the valley. “The BJP government has been fooling the world by saying that Kashmiri Pandits have returned to the valley and that they’ve been rehabilitated in the valley, when Pandits are still vulnerable in the region. The wrong policies of this government have only inflicted pain among the residents of the region,” he added.
In a press statement, Kashmiri pandit Sangarsh Samiti issued a Hartal call for Monday against the brutalities against the Kashmiri society by the “Militants”, particularly against the target killings. “These terrorists are unsavory against the Islam. Hope everyone will co operate and observe the Hartal in peaceful ways,” Sanjay Tickoo President of KPSS said in a press release.