Kashmiri Pandits hail action against Malik, JKLF

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) An organisation of Kashmiri Pandits on Thursday welcomed the decision to ban Yasin Malik-led Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and said those responsible for the "Hindu genocide" in the state should be tried expeditiously.

The Roots In Kashmir in a statement said the government for the first time last week acknowledged the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus when Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba said, "Malik was the mastermind behind the purging of Kashmiri Pandits and is responsible for the genocide." The acknowledgement could be "pointless" if justice was not delivered to the victims, it added.

Stating that the country had not ensured resettlement of about 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits even after 30 years, the organisation appealed political parties to ensure their return to the state.

"The status of ethno-religiously cleansed Kashmiri Hindus has seen no improvement in the last three decades. There have been no closures in any of the murders of the community. In most cases even charge sheets have not been filed," the statement said.

"The wheels of justice had not moved until recently when the government decided to ban the JKLF, an organisation responsible for killing and subsequent exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. This is an abdication by the state of its constitutional and moral obligations towards its citizen," it added.

"Malik, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate and several others guilty of the Hindu genocide in Kashmir should be tried expeditiously, under a special dispensation, and punished for their self-confessed crimes," it said.

The organisation said it is committed "to reverse" the genocide in a time-bound manner.

"We shall also ensure their dignified return to their motherland and protection of their rights as citizens of India to let them live in a secure environment," it said.