Pandits say JK govt should address their problems

Expressing regret over the absence of a Kashmiri Pandit in the new J&K assembly, a
Kashmiri Pandit group on Saturday hoped that the new government would address the problems faced by the community displaced by militancy.

"Assembly election of 2008 has once again established the politically disadvantageous position of minority Hindu community of Kashmir valley," said Jammu and Kashmir Vichar Manch after a meeting to review the latest situation in the state.

The group congratulated Omar Abdullah for becoming the chief minister and hoped that the new government would take all the necessary steps to protect the lives of common people and to attend to basic problems of the displaced community.

The organisation said the results underlined the need to have some affirmative action for including the "important section" of Kashmir society into policy making process.

"State intervention is the only way to include the displaced community," it said in a release here. 

We hope that sustained steps will be initiated to involve the community in the process of evolving policy for economic, social development, it said. The JKVM, however, congratulated the people of the state for demonstrating their faith in the democratic process by voting in large numbers.