PM enjoys while Kashmir mourns

Minister of State for Home Ali Mohammad Sagar said that the Prime Minister and other VIP’s had to slightly alter their programme as there was chance of bad weather at Gulmerg that could have disallowed the landing of the plane.The State General Secretary of the CPM said, “As a mark of respect to the carnage of the innocent Pandits, the Government should have at least cancelled thecolourful cultural programme, keeping in view the gloom that has engulfed the Valley people”.

Prime Minister Gujral who arrived here at 2.30 pm lashed out at Pakistan for engineering the massacre of four Kashmiri families and asked the security forces to nab the culprits as early as possible. He asked the people of both the communities to exhibit restrain and preserve the communal harmony, the main target of the foreign killers. Gujral assured the Pandit community of extending full State protection.

The emotionally charged Prime Minister, while addressing a gathering of 400 villagers, “Today is a day of mourning and whole of the nation is with you at this time of grief. But, it is not a Hindu-Muslim problem and nobody can put blame of this tragedy on the Muslims of the State. This country belongs to its citizens, without any consideration of their faith”.

While warning the people of various conspiracies hatched to disturb the communal harmony in the State, he said, “Don’t be trapped in theconspiracy of communalists, who want to harm the traditional religious harmony by the might of the gun. So, I advise you to live together as you have been living for generations together”.Later a group of Kashmiri Pandits from neighbouring villages apprised the PM regarding the intensity fear that has engulfed the community after the massacre. “Sir, we want you to immediately take us away from this place as we want to live. No security measures can restore our shattered confidence,” said Sanjay, an employee in Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ganderbal.

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s offer of all possible financial assistance to the families, another Pandit Makhan Lal said, “Pradhan mantree sahib, humay male nahein jane chaheyay (Respected Prime Minister, We don’t want money, we want to live)”.

The Pandits were adamant that the Government should take measures for their migration as immediately as possible as it is the only available option. “If we live under the security cover in theValley, we will not only loose the faith of our Muslim friends but also become more vulnerable targets to militant attacks.”

Earlier, Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah proposed creation of Village Defence Committees (VDC) for fighting the militants. “We will train boys from both the communities in villages with composite character on the pattern of district Doda so that people can themselves fight these killers,” said the Chief Minister.

While pointing towards the destroyed residential house of the slain Moti Lal, the Chief Minister said, “ See, this is the aazaadi that Pakistan had been promising to you for the last seven years, turning the Valley into a hell”. Warning the people he said , “If you will not rise to the occasion and push these murderers out of this beautiful valley, the days are not away when they will destroy your mosques and eliminate you like the Pandits”. Stressing upon the army to be very vigilant while fighting the militants he said, “During the operations against themilitants, you should make sure that the civilian people are not harassed in any way”. The PM and other VIP’s later drove to Kheer Bhavani temple at Tulimullah in Ganderbal where the PM prayed for the communal harmony in the State. The PM also met a few Pandit families living under the security cover of the Border Security Force.