Kashmir pandits for all-party meet on land transfer

Srinagar, Jun 28 (UNI) Urging to maintain status quo on the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), a Kashmiri Pandit organisation today demanded calling of an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.

President of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti Sanjay Kumar Tikoo in a statement here today requested Governor N N Vohra to call an all party meeting in which all local politicians and other leadership besides Kashmiri Pandits should be invited.

The government must put the land transfer order at status quo till the problem is resolved, he said.

He also demanded convening a special session of the Legislative Assembly, as soon as possible to pass the temple bill which is pending there for the past few years to stop more blood shed in the Valley and end this controversy.

However, he questioned the leaders of mainstream political parties and separatists for maintaining silence over the issue of other pandit property which is being looked after by outsiders.

We have been requesting to these leaders that they should raise their voice so that management of the temples and other property be looked after by the KPSS, he said, adding that there was no response.

He said now these leaders are demanding that Amarnath yatra should be handed over to Kashmiri Pandits.

If the leaders are really concerned about the issue that all Pandit religious places in the Kashmir Province should be handed over to Kashmiri Pandits then why is Temple Bill still pending in the Legislative Assembly.

He asked why the persons from Mirpur, Pakistan or Delhi are governing the management of the local temples in the Valley, how a ''fugitive'' from the other state is given the permission by the State Authorities to run the temple affairs in the Valley without knowing his back ground and police record.

Without naming anyone, he said these very politicians and State Revenue Department are behind the scene to facilitate these Non- Kashmiris and big guns of land mafia to sell and purchase the temple land property to vanish the Kashmiri Pandit history and faith from the Valley.

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