New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Government is
making all efforts to bring back Kashmiri Pandits who had
migrated from the Valley with the onset of militancy in the
state, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday.
Speaking at the 15th National Integration Council (NIC)
meeting here, Omar said the forced migration of Kashmiri
Pandits has created a "big void" in the composite social
fabric of the state and efforts are being made to facilitate
their return.
"The forced migration of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir
Valley to Jammu and other parts of the country has created a
big void in the composite communal fabric of my state.
"The government has been implementing a comprehensive
multi-sectoral package as a part of the Prime Minister's
Reconstruction Programme to facilitate the return of the
Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir Valley and thereby fill up this
void," he said at the function which was chaired by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh.
Omar said the state government has also brought
amendments in the electoral laws to ensure that the names of
the Kashmiri Pandits, who had to migrate from the Valley due
to disturbed conditions, continue to figure on the electoral
rolls so that they continue to be stakeholders in the
electoral process.
"The state government has enacted the Jammu and Kashmir
Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and
Restraint of Distress Sales) Act 1997 to prevent the distress
sale of the properties of the Kashmiri migrants," he said.
Omar said his government was also planning to bring about
a legislation to protect the religious places of the Kashmiri
Pandits.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, September 10, 2011, 18:40