The latest threats issued against Kashmiri Pandits working in the Kashmir Valley should force a serious conversation about the security of the community, a conversation that is often inconvenient for those determined to project an artificially rosy picture of Kashmir.
Fresh threat letter allegedly issued by the Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked United Liberation Council (ULC) has warned Kashmiri Pandit employees recruited under the Prime Minister’s rehabilitation package to quit their jobs or face fatal consequences. Reports say the threats have been accompanied by the alleged leaking of personal information, including phone numbers, addresses and vehicle registration details. Nearly 7,000 Pandit employees are covered under the PM package.
This is not merely an anonymous threat floating somewhere on the internet. For a community that experienced targeted killings, intimidation and an exodus from the Valley in the 1990s, the appearance of names, addresses and other personal details carries a very different psychological weight.
And yet, whenever such incidents occur, some voices seem more interested in questioning the victims’ fears than the terrorists issuing the threats. The latest example came when National Conference president Farooq Abdullah questioned why Kashmiri Pandit employees were being threatened while other Hindu officials were not, suggesting that the threats could be part of a conspiracy.
This is precisely where the “there is no threat to Kashmiri Pandits returning to Kashmir” narrative falls apart.
Nobody is suggesting that Kashmir is uniformly unsafe or that every Kashmiri Pandit employee is under imminent attack. But dismissing genuine threats simply because they contradict a preferred political narrative is equally irresponsible.
The ‘dimagi naxals’ who provide covering fire to extremists all over, would like us to believe that the situation is perfectly normal. But the Kashmiri Pandits continue to be on the target of terrorists operating in Kashmir valley.
Kashmiri Pandits should absolutely have the right to return to their ancestral homeland. But return cannot be reduced to a slogan. It requires security, confidence, functioning institutions and the assurance that terrorists cannot dictate who is allowed to live and work in the Valley.
The irony is striking. On one hand, there is constant talk about normalcy and rehabilitation. On the other, a terror-linked group is reportedly telling Pandit employees to leave their jobs or risk death. The government and security agencies must therefore treat every such threat seriously, investigate the source of leaked personal information and strengthen protection for vulnerable employees.
The real enemy here is not the Kashmiri Pandit who wants to return. It is the terrorist who wants him to remain away.
And perhaps the first step towards genuine rehabilitation is to stop pretending that the problem has disappeared simply because acknowledging it is politically inconvenient.
