1400 Hindus leave Kashmir in 3 days [ Jammu & Kashmir, India ]

[ Reported as seen ]

In yet another series of ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus, A Dainik Jagran report dated October 9 says that 1400 have left Kashmir in a span of 3 days and arrived at Jammu.

70 of these Hindus fled from Mattan in South Kashmir and have come to Jammu. They said that the situation in the valley reminds them of 1990, when over 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits had fled in what constituted the 7th mass exodus of Hindus from the region. The refugees added that 250 government employees were on their way out of Srinagar.

The Kashmiri Hindus who left said that the local administration is trying to stop the exodus but people are scared and not ready to listen to any assurances. Some families have half their members in Jammu, and the rest in Kashmir which is adding to their anxiety.

In total, including those who left from areas of North Kashmir like Kupwara, a total of 1400 Hindus have come to Jammu thus far, the report states. Many families are not speaking out due to security reasons.

Journalist and author Rahul Pandita shed some light on possible security lapses behind recent civilian killings.

“A senior source in CRPF claims that of late the Kashmir Police have become complacent about random checks (nakas) and CASO (Cordon and Search Ops) in Srinagar city. This has given a sense of free passage to terrorists and overground terror workers, which showed in the ease with which terrorists spent considerable time in a school in the heart of Srinagar, singling out minority targets. On October 7, the CRPF, without waiting for Police, put up random nakas at over 50 places in Srinagar to send a strong message to terrorists. The Police have now “woken up,” the source says, promising cooperation in this matter.”

Sanjay Tickoo, who heads the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), a body representing the voices of those who did not migrate from the Valley in the 1990s, said, “Neither those who stayed back since the 1990s nor those who returned to the Valley are feeling secure. Many are leaving out of fear. The condemnation here is nothing but a lip service.”