Jammu, February 08 (Scoop News)-Panun Kashmir has strongly denounced the recent remarks by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, dismissing his calls for reconciliation as hollow and misleading. In a statement issued by General Secretary Kuldeep Raina and Organizing Secretary B. L. Kaul, the organization asserted that reconciliation cannot come at the cost of erasing history and that justice must precede any discussion on coexistence. The statement made it clear that the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus cannot be whitewashed with politically convenient rhetoric, nor can reconciliation be dictated by those who remained silent while an entire community was massacred and exiled.
Panun Kashmir emphasized that the forced displacement of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990 was not an isolated event but part of a long history of persecution aimed at their systematic erasure. The organization stated that any meaningful reconciliation must begin with the formal acknowledgment of this genocide, followed by concrete steps toward justice, rehabilitation, and accountability. It highlighted that international legal frameworks, including the United Nations’ 2005 Guidelines on the Right to Remedy for Victims of Gross Atrocities, lay down a clear process for addressing historical wrongs. Justice, it said, is not a vague concept but a structured process that requires official recognition of the crimes committed, institutional guarantees for safe return, reparation for destroyed lives and properties, and the prosecution of those responsible for orchestrating and enabling genocide. Without these measures, any talk of reconciliation remains nothing more than an attempt to absolve the perpetrators and silence the victims.
The organization also took strong exception to the state’s selective priorities, pointing out the stark contrast between the government’s indifference toward the plight of Kashmiri Hindus and its urgency in reviewing Mirwaiz’s security concerns. Reports indicate that after his recent visit to Delhi, there are fresh assessments about threats to his safety, leading to speculation that the security cover withdrawn in 2019 may be reinstated. Panun Kashmir questioned the double standards at play, reminding the state that Kashmiri Hindus were left defenseless when they were being killed, displaced, and rendered stateless. The statement asked why no such urgent security reviews were conducted when Kashmiri Hindu families were being targeted, their homes torched, and their temples desecrated. It criticized the state’s continued apathy and demanded that the same institutions that are now concerned about Mirwaiz’s safety should first answer for their inaction in 1990.
Rejecting Mirwaiz’s claims of offering reconciliation, Panun Kashmir made it clear that there can be no return to the failed model of forced coexistence, which has only resulted in repeated genocidal attacks on Kashmiri Hindus. The statement reaffirmed that the only viable solution is the creation of a separate homeland within Kashmir, where Kashmiri Hindus can live with full constitutional rights, security, and dignity. It categorically stated that this demand is non-negotiable and that no superficial gestures or politically motivated narratives will alter the fundamental reality that justice must be delivered.
Panun Kashmir declared that the era of appeasement is over. It warned that history cannot be rewritten to suit those who once justified or remained complicit in the community’s persecution. Reconciliation, it reiterated, cannot be used as a smokescreen to evade responsibility. The organization called upon the Indian government to recognize the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus and take decisive steps to ensure that their rightful place i.e carving out homeland for Kashmiri Hindus. It emphasized that without truth, justice, and accountability, reconciliation is meaningless and that the struggle for a separate homeland will continue until justice is served.
|