A group of Pakistani journalists, on their first trip to Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday saw first hand the plight of Kashmiri Hindus driven out of their homes in the Valley by the decade-long militancy.
The 18-member group interacted with inmates of migrant camps, many of whom narrated tales of how they lost their kin and homes to militancy. One Omarkar Nath, who migrated to Muthi camp in 1994 after he lost his son to militancy, asked them to use their pen to help end the bloodshed and restore the lost glory of Kashmir.
"We want gun culture to end and for this Pakistan should stop sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. It has ruined Kashmiris, both Pandits as well as Muslims. You people are the most powerful instruments in bringing peace to the Valley", he said.
Another displaced Pandit, Sarwanund, told the visitors that insurgency in Kashmir was nothing but Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and not a freedom movement as described by the Pakistani media.
"Go and see for yourself this truth... when you reach Kashmir your will see paradise and then you will ponder over why Kashmiri Hindus left that paradise to live in hell," said Soomawati, who has lost two sons.
Ashwani Kumar of Panun Kashmir Movement presented a document on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits to the general secretary of SAFMA Imtiaz Alam. The scribes' visit has been organised by SAFMA.
