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Omar Abdullah | Express Photo by Shuaib Masood In his first comments on recently released “The Kashmir Files”, former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said an atmosphere should be created for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley. “However, I don’t think that the makers of this film want them (Kashmiri Pandits) to return to Kashmir. Perhaps what they intend is for them to always stay out of here,” he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a party workers’ meet in Kulgam, he said: “I only want to ask the filmmakers if this a documentary or a commercial film. If this is the former, we would believe that there is truth to it but the makers themselves say it is only ‘based on reality’ but it is not a documentary.”
The National Conference vice-president emphasised that the film incorrectly depicts the political scenario of the time of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. “The truth is that when the exodus happened, Farooq Abdullah was not the Chief Minister. This took place during Governor Raj and Jagmohan Sb was Governor (of J&K). VP Singh was in power and who stood behind him, the BJP,” he said.
Omar questioned why the film did not show that the BJP was in power supporting VP Singh at the Centre during the time of the exodus. “It is not okay to twist this way,” he said.
Stating that no single community suffered in isolation, Abdullah said: “We deeply regret the killing of Kashmiri Pandits. This should not have happened. But Kashmiri Muslims did not get killed or Sikhs did not die?”
He added that members of all religious communities had to leave their homes. “Some Muslims and Sikhs also left their home and Kashmir and never came back, alongside the Pandits,” he added.
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