Ghulam Nabi Azad: Shift Kashmiri Pandit employees to Jammu until...
Former J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad said that life is more important than employment and that the government should transfer the Kashmiri Pandits to Jammu. Azad's comments came over the concerns about the rise in terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and the surge in civilian killings this year.
FollowDemocratic Azad Party Chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Monday, December 26, 2022, said that the Kashmiri pandits should be temporarily shifted to Jammu until the situation in Kashmir valley improves. Questioning the safety of the Kashmiri Pandits, the former CM said that life is more important than employment and that the government should transfer the Kashmiri Pandits to Jammu.
Azad's comments came over the concerns about the rise in terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and the surge in civilian killings this year.
Azad said, "We suggested that Pandits be given jobs to the then-Manmohan Singh government during my tenure. Approximately 3,000 people were hired. But nobody bothered them at that time.
Several incidents, however, have been reported. Life is most important. What I propose is that Kashmiri Pandits be shifted to Jammu for safety. They can be called back when the situation improves."
Additionally, Azad said that employment could not be more important than lives. "I am unsure about the current government's thoughts on this; however, if we are voted to power, we will do this. Appeals have been made for the relocation of Kashmiri Pandits due to safety and security concerns," said Azad.
Azad's comments came as the Union Territory prepares for the elections. This poll will be the first to be held in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the state's special status. Jammu and Kashmir were divided into two union territories, establishing Ladakh as a separate UT.
Azad ended his decades-long association with the grand old party Congress earlier this year and established his party a month later, named Democratic Azad Party. While Ghulam Nabi Azad addressed local concerns in his public speeches, other opposition leaders have raised various concerns. One such issue is the inclusion of non-locals on the voter list in J&K.
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