We are the real victims of the unrest: Kashmiri Pandits

Unhappy over PM Modi ‘not speaking about them’, they accused the Centre of ignoring their plight

Jammu: Government employees, who have been protesting here against the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp in Kashmir Valley, yesterday expressed dismay at PM Modi “not speaking about them” and said they were the “real victims” of the unrest.

Kashmiri protesters shout pro-freedom and anti-India slogans during an agitation against civilian killings in Kashmir’s ongoing unrest, in Srinagar yesterday. Pic/AFP

The protest at the Relief Commissioners Office (RCO) entered the 29th day yesterday.

“We are disappointed that the Prime Minister while speaking about stone-pelters did not utter a single word about us, people who are the real victims of stone-pelting, but we will continue our protest and are hopeful that our struggle will bear fruit,” Chairman of the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee Vinod Pandita said.

“It is not about 700 people who are protesting here, but 700 families that have been hit by the turmoil,” he said.

The protesting employees demanded, “their posts be shifted to Jammu as it is not safe for them to return and work in Kashmir”. “We were peacefully doing our job in Kashmir when we were attacked by the mob. They forced us to raise anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans. They threatened to kill us. How can the government expect us to return and work in such an environment?” Sangeeta, a protester said.

The protesters have accused the state and the Centre of turning a blind eye towards the “miseries” faced by the community. Workers belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community have refused to return to their jobs in the Valley after the alleged stone-pelting on their transit camp.

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