New Delhi, Mar 23 (IANS): Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) on Saturday welcomed Union government's "positive and pathbreaking" decision to ban separatist organization Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and holding its founder, Yasin Malik, responsible for the "genocide" of Kashmiri Pandits.
The GKPD, a joint initiative of Kashmiri Pandit organizations in India and abroad, has been persistently demanding the formal acknowledgement that what the Kashmiri Pandits suffered was nothing but "genocide".
"Today, Kashmiri Pandit community has proven to be triumphant in that the sword of their truth has prevailed over the sword of violence. Kashmiri Pandits have been steadfast in their truth, Satyamev Jayate, even in the face of an extremely hostile state administration and a complicit establishment," GKPD said in a statement.
They said that the "victory" has been achieved because of the sacrifices and hard work of the entire Kashmiri Pandit community.
"It culminated in the trailblazing Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which articulated that the first and foremost demand of the Kashmiri Pandit community was to recognize Kashmiri Pandit Genocide and Ethnic cleansing," the GKPD said.
The GKPD MOU was presented to union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in September, 2018.
"We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recognizing that the militant movement in Kashmir was not about liberation, not about economic suffering, not about justice but a theo-fascist movement which has brought great suffering to the land and its people," the statement added.
"After years of waiting while steadfastly vouching for the truth, the community is looking at vindication of that stand."
In a recent GKPD Conclave "Right the Wrong" held on February 23, 2019, PDP MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig had also endorsed Kashmiri Pandits' genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The GKPD will announce a political steering committee very soon and GKPD will partner with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir and Government so that Kashmiri Pandit demand that the community be declared as Internally Displaced People becomes real and that all reliefs as laid down in the United Nations guiding principles be applied to them.
The Indian government on Friday outlawed the JKLF led by Muhammad Yasin Malik, alleging it was responsible for promoting terrorism and secessionism in the state.