J&K Assembly passes resolution for return of Kashmiri Pandits

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the Assembly should pass a resolution for the return of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants,

Kashmiri Pandit women ring the bells before entering the temple during the annual Hindu festival at the Kheer Bhawani Temple at Tulla Mulla Ganderbal,northeast of Srinagar. File Photo: Nissar Ahmad

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling for the return of those who have migrated, including Kashmiri Pandits, on Thursday.

Former Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah proposed to move a resolution to favour the return of all sections of people who have migrated in the last 27 years.

“All the political parties should rise above their affiliations and pass a resolution to create an atmosphere so that all those people who have left Kashmir could return," Mr. Abdullah said.

Later, Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta read the resolution: “A conducive atmosphere should be created for their safe return."

Minister for Public Works and Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri said the government has accepted the need to bring people back to the State.

Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit families left the Valley when militancy broke out in 1989.