'Nothing new in Farooq Abdullah's statement on displaced Kashmiri Pandits'

A Kashmiri Pandits organisation today said there is nothing new in the statement by Union minister Farooq Abdullah where he described the displacement of the community members from the Valley as "one of the darkest chapters" in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.

"It (Farooq Abdullah's statement) has only opened up the raw wounds of the Pandits of Kashmir, reminding them of the atrocities inflicted upon them in Kashmir," Panun Kashmir president Ashwani Chrungoo said.

The issue of resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir cannot be resolved by merely "asking for forgiveness" or the so-called "economic packages of the government," he said.

This issue has been dealt thoroughly by the community over last two decades, he said, adding that Pandits under aegis of recognised platforms have already formulated the return module which is generally known as 'Demand of Homeland'.

The establishment of 'Homeland in Kashmir' for Kashmiri pandits is the only way out for a permanent resettlement of the community in Kashmir which leaves no scope for further bouts of exodus, he said.

Yesterday Abdullah at a book launch in Delhi termed the displacement of Pandits from the Valley as "one of the darkest chapters" in the history of state and asked the displaced people for "forgiveness."

"One of the major tragedies that we had to go through was the ethnic cleansing that took place in the state of Jammu and Kashmir," the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir had said.

Appreciating the "belated concern" shown by Abdullah, Chrungoo said, "In his recent statement in respect of the miserable condition of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, living in exile, and the far reaching dimensions of genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass exodus, the tone of his statement is simply a cold comfort for the beleaguered Kashmiri Pandit community."

"What Abdullah has said regarding ethnic cleansing and mass exodus and its consequences is not anything new," he said.