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Pandits want Vajpayee to take up issue with Musharraf

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Kashmiri Migrants' Welfare Association on Friday appealed to the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to 'put forth' its case to visiting Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf so that they could return to 'the land of our birth'.

In a statement, association leader M L Kaul and Ramesh Manavati said lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits had been forced out 'from our homes and hearths in 1990 because of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism'.

They said the displaced persons also included Sikhs, Gujjars, Buddhists and Hindus.

"It must be made clear to Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir does not comprise Muslims alone. The problems of the other communities in the state is in no way different from any other region in the sub-continent and neither can they be discussed, in isolation," they pointed out.

They said India should demand compensation, as per international law, for the losses suffered.

Contending that the association should not expect anything 'from a person who has attained the highest office in Pakistan by violating all democratic norms', they questioned Musharraf's decision to invite Hurriyat Conference to a tea-party.

The, Hurriyat, they said, "neither represents local Kashmiri Muslims nor various factions within it."

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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