Nation needs to apologise to Kashmiri Pandits: Kashmir governor

The nation needs to apologise to Kashmiri Pandits for not doing enough to protect their interests, former Jammu and Kashmir governor SK Sinha said today.

"The whole nation needs to apologise to the Kashmiri Pandits, because we have not done what we should have done for them," Sinha said, referring to the community being forced out of their home state by terror groups.

Addressing the annual convention of Panun Kashmir, an outfit of Kashmiri Pandits, here, the former governor expressed "total confidence" in the army's ability to protect Jammu and Kashmir, saying: "No matter what anyone says so long as you have an army like the Indian Army the question of grabbing Kashmir does not arise."

Former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarthy stressed the need for strengthening the internal security system and need for a strong leadership to deal with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

"India needs to develop an internal structure that is strong enough and to have a leadership who has the will to inflict damage on ones who want to damage us," Parthasarathy said in his address.

Former BJP leader K Govindacharya said "pro-active diplomacy accompanied with proactive military" would have the desired effect in Jammu and Kashmir. Bollywood actor Sanjay Suri, a Pandit who had to leave Kashmir after terrorism began in the valley, was felicitated on the occasion.