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Kashmiri Pandit body sounds alarm over fresh terror threats
President of the samiti Sanjay Tickoo said that a letter attributed to an outfit calling itself United Liberation Council (ULC) — described as a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy — has surfaced on social media carrying names and personal details of Pandit employees.
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The Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti on Tuesday said that the latest threats targeting Kashmiri Pandit employees in the Valley cannot be dismissed as digital noise and described it as a disturbing reminder that while the medium of intimidation has changed, the message remains familiar.
President of the samiti Sanjay Tickoo said that a letter attributed to an outfit calling itself United Liberation Council (ULC) — described as a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy — has surfaced on social media carrying names and personal details of Pandit employees.
“The security agencies are examining its authenticity, but the circulation of such identifiable information itself warrants an immediate, transparent and credible response.
What is unfolding is profoundly familiar. In the 1990s, intimidation travelled through posters, loudspeakers and whispers. Today it travels through screens and encrypted channels. The technology has changed, but the objective is similar to make Kashmiri Pandits feel his birthplace is conditional, his property negotiable and his presence temporary,” Tickoo said in a statement, adding that this cannot be viewed as an isolated incident.
“The larger question is why a Pandit returning to his ancestral homeland should still have to fear that his return itself exposes him to danger. A Pandit does not become an outsider because circumstances forced him to leave. Decades of displacement do not convert belonging into intrusion,” he said.
Tickoo said the recent remarks attributed to BJP general secretary Ashok Koul at Kapal Mochan, Shopian, that “targeted killings won’t stop” while emphasising brotherhood, merit reflection.
“If targeted killings are spoken of as something that will continue, what is being promised to families encouraged to return? Brotherhood is valuable, but it cannot substitute for protection, intelligence and accountability. For years, the return of Pandits has been called essential to Kashmir’s pluralism. Yet when they return, they are asked to adjust; when they seek security, they are told the situation is improving,” he said.
Tickoo said that the majority cannot be blamed for the crimes of militants, but society must examine the environment where such threats can emerge. “The real test is not how loudly we mourn after a killing, but whether we recognise the warning before it. A Kashmiri Pandit does not need ceremonial brotherhood. He needs assurance that his life will be protected, his personal data safeguarded, and his ancestral property rights secured. Returning home should be normal, not an act of extraordinary courage,” he said.
