JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said Kashmiri Pandits cannot be forced to return to the Kashmir valley, which they left in the 1990s fearing for their safety.
"Their exodus was forced their return can't be. All I can do is redouble my efforts to facilitate conditions for Pandits to return to Kashmir," he posted on Twitter.
He was replying to a Twitter follower about the return of Kashmiri Pandits who left the valley after some members of the community were killed.
More than 350,000 people left the Valley and settled in migrant camps in Jammu or moved to Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
Around 1,400 people later shifted back to the Valley after sthe government offered them jobs under a reserved category.
"I would have loved to go back had there been a guarantee of permanent peace and no hostility toward the community," said Shadi Lal Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit, who retired recently.
"We are not tourists who would be welcomed there. If we go, we will go on a permanent basis," Bhat said.
But Shailder Dhar, who shifted to a township built for Kashmiri Pandits near here, agreed with Abdullah's view.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced a Rs.1,600 crore package for return and rehabilitation of the community members in 2008. Safe clusters were also constructed in some parts of the Valley for them.
Kashmiri migrants can't be forced to return: Omar
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