Kashmiri Pandits among 14 minorities killed in J&K this year: government
Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home, told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the Centre has taken a lot of steps to protect minorities in Jammu and Kashmir, including static guards, area dominance at night, and round-the-clock nakas at strategic points.
He said that there have been 180 militants, 31 security personnel, and 31 civilians killed in 123 terror incidents in J&K this year.
Rai responded to a written question by saying, “14 minorities, including three Kashmiri Pandits, have been killed in the Union Territory since November 30.”
It’s a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved. Terrorist attacks have declined from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021,” he said. According to Rai, eight journalists working for local news organizations in Kashmir have been threatened by militants, and four have quit. “Sinhalese journalists working for local papers received threats through the terror blog Kashmir Fight, as reported. It’s reported that four media people resigned. ‘Rising Kashmir’ is the media house where the resigned media people come from. Consequently, a case has been filed at the Shergari police station in Srinagar,” he said.
As part of the steps to up security measures, Rai said that “Proactive security arrangements are in place whereby a security grid consisting of police, Army, CAPF and intelligence agencies remains deployed across J&K to thwart any threat/attempt by terrorists or their handlers, active operations to identify and arrest terrorists and place them on the run, and proactive measures whereby the police/other security agencies provide a reasonable level of security to protect media personnel.
According to Rai, as a result of the Prime Minister’s development package, 3,000 government jobs have been created for Kashmiri migrants, of which 2,639 have been appointed in the last five years.
