14 Kashmiri Pandits migrate from Nadimarg

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April 09, 2003 18:55 IST

Fourteen members of two Kashmiri Pandit families on Wednesday left their ancestral homes in Nadimarg in Pulwama district ignoring assurances of additional security if they continued to live in the valley.

The decision to migrate followed the massacre of 24 Pandits in the village in March.

Police sources in Srinagar told rediff.com that the two families left for Jammu by road.

Four Pandits from the village in south Kashmir had already migrated to Jammu on Monday.

After the massacre, PDP vice-president Mehbooba Mufti and government officials had rushed to Nadimarg to reassure the 30 Pandits who continued to live in Nadimarg.

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had detailed discussions with the top police officers and ordered a thorough review of the security in all minority-dominated areas in the valley to instill confidence among the Pandits.

Hence, Wednesday's migration from Nadimarg has come a serious blow to the chief minister's efforts to persuade the Pandits to return to the Kashmir valley.

Last week, top state government officials had managed to dissuade the families from migrating to Jammu after intercepting them near Khanabal in Anantnag district.

However, the Pandits had made it clear that they would not stay in the village for more that a few days.

"We never wanted to leave this village and our Muslim neighbours. But we have no option," the Pandits told officials before leaving.

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