Six Pandits killed by militants since 2020, None left valley in 2022: Govt

Six Pandits killed by militants since 2020, None left valley in 2022: GoI

A total of six Kashmiri Pandits have been killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir between 2020 and 2022 so far, the government has said.
MoS Home Nityanand Rai said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that 2021 saw four Kashmiri pandits being killed, while there was a murder each in 2020 and 2022.

No Kashmiri Pandits have left the valley
Rai also informed the Parliament that the number of Kashmiri Pandits who are still residing in the valley is 6,514 and added that as per records, no Kashmiri Pandit has the Kashmir Valley during the year 2022.
Last week, the government had informed Rajya Sabha that not a single Kashmiri Pandit left the Kashmir valley ever since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
Nityanand Rai also said that as many as 118 civilians, including five Kashmiri Pandits and 16 other Hindus and Sikhs, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.

Kashmiri Pandit employees have not resigned
On Tuesday, Rai had told the Lok Sabha that no Kashmiri Pandit working under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) has resigned in protest against the killings of fellow community members in the Valley by terrorists.
Rai also said that a total of 5,502 Kashmiri Pandits have been provided government jobs in different departments of Jammu and Kashmir administration in the Kashmir Valley under the PMDP.
“As per the information provided by the government of Jammu and Kashmir, no Kashmiri Pandit working under the Prime Minister’s Development Package has resigned in protest against the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir Valley,” Rai said replying to a written question.
The minister of state for home said the government has approved the construction of 6,000 transit accommodations for the Kashmiri migrant employees engaged or to be engaged in different departments of the Jammu and Kashmir government in the Valley.

Kashmiri Pandits protest seeking relocation
Following the killing of Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit and a government employee who was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, community members had launched a massive protest demanding relocation outside the valley.
The protest by the employees started on May 12 and has continued since.
“We should either be relocated, or the administration should give them a breathing time till zero militancy is achieved in the valley,” they said.
“Until the target killings do not stop, we will not go to our offices. The administration should take steps for our safety and security,” the Kashmir Pandit employees said.
The employees have rejected the government’s decision to shift them to district and tehsil headquarters within the valley and have been sticking to their demand for relocation.

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