New Delhi, May 3: A Pandit organization, All Kashmiri United Front (AKUF), on Monday said that Kashmiri youth were compelled to take up arms in 1989 after they lost faith in democratic institutions.        
 “Kashmiris never wanted to take up the gun, but they lost faith in the democratic system. Elections were rigged,” the General Secretary of the AKUF, S K Ambardar, told a news conference here.
 Referring to Hizbul Mujahideen Chief, Syed Salahuddin, Ambardar said, “He had won the election by over 3,500 votes, but he was declared loser at the behest of mainstream politicians. People like Salahuddin were left with no other option other than to take up the guns as they were not allowed to join the mainstream.”
 He asked the centre to issue a whitepaper to find out causes and reasons for “mass migration” of Pandits from the valley. “A whitepaper enumerating reasons and causes should be published to expose those people who were responsible for our displacement,” he added.
 He said that Kashmir Pandits should be declared Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and not as migrants.
 Ambardar said that the Prime Minister’s package for Pandits had been clubbed with their return to the Valley. The rehabilitation assistance should be without any precondition.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 4 May 2010 00:00:00 IST