Srinagar, Sep 12: Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Kashmir Valley under the Prime Minister’s rehabilitation package on Friday urged the Centre to take immediate measures to address their security concerns, warning that the prevailing atmosphere of fear could lead to another cycle of displacement.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, All PM Package Employees Forum president Sunny Raina highlighted what he described as “serious security concerns” and a growing sense of fear and uncertainty among Kashmiri Hindu employees and their families living and working in the Valley.
The appeal comes amid a series of security threats reported by Kashmiri Pandits who returned to the Valley as government employees under the Prime Minister’s package.
Raina said the community had been making a “sincere but extremely difficult effort” to resettle in Kashmir, but incidents of targeted killings of civilians and Kashmiri Hindus since 2021 had created a deep sense of fear among families.
“Every such incident revives the painful memories of the 1990s and raises a genuine concern that Kashmiri Hindus may once again be forced into displacement from their homeland,” the letter said.
The employees said that although the situation may appear normal on the surface, a sense of uneasiness and tension continues to prevail at the grassroots level.
“Many families remain deeply concerned about their safety and the future of their children,” Raina said.
He also expressed concern that the process of complete social rehabilitation and acceptance of Kashmiri Hindus had not progressed as expected.
“We are trying to rebuild our lives here, but the atmosphere of uncertainty makes this process extremely difficult,” he said.
The employees expressed particular concern over what they described as a recent increase in threatening letters and intimidation, saying such developments should not be viewed in isolation.
They recalled that threatening letters and notices during the 1990s had contributed to a climate of fear among Kashmiri Hindu families before their mass displacement.
The employees urged Shah to treat the recent threats and communications targeting Kashmiri Hindus and PM Package employees with utmost seriousness and order a thorough investigation.
They also sought strict legal action against those responsible for issuing threats, intimidation or inciting violence.
Among their demands were strengthened intelligence gathering and preventive security measures for PM Package employees, their families and residential colonies, besides a comprehensive security review of employee accommodations and settlements.
The employees further urged the Union Home Ministry to ensure that they were not forced to choose between their livelihood and personal safety.
They sought an effective mechanism through which PM Package employees could immediately report threats and receive timely protection, along with close monitoring of emerging patterns of targeted intimidation.
The employees emphasised that their appeal was aimed at enabling them to remain in the Valley rather than leave it.
“We have spent the last 15 years trying to rebuild what was destroyed decades ago. We do not want another displacement. We want to stay in Kashmir, work here and live here with dignity and security,” they said.
The forum said the Government of India had repeatedly demonstrated its commitment towards the rehabilitation and security of Kashmiri Hindus and urged the Centre to take “immediate, visible and concrete action” before the prevailing atmosphere of fear develops into another humanitarian crisis.
