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On Exodus Day, Farooq Abdullah Welcomes Pandit Return, Questions Permanent Resettlement

Abdullah said the Union government must act on promised housing for displaced families.

Overview

  • Kashmiri Pandits marked January 19 as Exodus Day, commemorating the 1990 flight after militant threats and killings.
  • Farooq Abdullah said nobody is preventing Kashmiri Pandits from coming back and noted that many families continue to live in the Valley.
  • He expressed doubt that large numbers would relocate permanently, citing aging migrants and children settled in schools and jobs elsewhere.
  • He recalled pledging housing for returnees during his tenure and said implementation now lies with the Centre after his government fell.
  • Youth 4 Panun Kashmir protesters blocked the Jammu–Srinagar highway near Jagti camp, demanding a separate homeland and a parliamentary bill recognizing genocide; reporting also cites estimates of roughly 1.4 lakh pre-1990 residents, over 2.5 lakh displaced, about 800 families still in the Valley, and nearly 62,000 families registered as migrants.