US Kashmiri Pandits ask Modi to allow Kousar Nag yatra

Washington, Aug 1: Kashmiri Pandits in the US have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing the Kousar Nag religious yatra in the valley to proceed after the Jammu and Kashmir government rescinded the order permitting the event.

Expressing dismay and anger on the recent decision of J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to rescind the order permitting Kashmiri Pandits to proceed with the annual and peaceful religious yatra to Kousar Nag, the Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA) in a letter to Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh urged that the Kousar Nag yatra should be allowed to continue with immediate effect.

"The Kashmiri Pandits have historically been guardians of the ecology of Kashmir where every spring, river and mountain has been treated with respect as opposed to the degradation that has been caused in recent decades by the forces who oppose them and who do not want the Pandits to expose this destruction of the environment of Kashmir through unrestrained illegal activities," the letter said.

"We note that this is the third disturbance that has been created in the Valley following reports that your administration is looking at plans to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits who had been expelled from the Valley in 1990 and have been living in exile for the last twenty five years," the letter said.

KOA has called for a general body meeting on August 31 in California to review the situation and determine their next course of action.

PTI