118 killed since Aug ’19; 21 were Hindus

NEW DELHI: As many as 118 civilians, including five Kashmiri Pandits and 16 other Hindus and Sikhs, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the government said Wednesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said in Rajya Sabha that 5,502 Kashmiri Pandits have been provided jobs in different departments of government of J&K in the valley and no Kashmiri Pandit has reportedly migrated from the valley since August 2019.

Rai said there has been substantial decline in terrorist attacks in last three years - from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021.

“From August 5, 2019 till July 9, 2022, 128 security force personnel and 118 civilians were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Out of 118 civilians killed, 5 were Kashmiri Pandits and 16 belonged to other Hindu and Sikh communities,” he said, in a written reply to a question.

He said no pilgrim has been killed during this period.

The minister said the government has a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in J&K.

He said jobs to the Kashmiri Pandits were given under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP).

Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated on August 5, 2019 and the state was bifurcated into two Union territories - J&K and Ladakh.

5,502 Kashmiri Pandits have been provided jobs in government of J&K in the valley and no Kashmiri Pandit has reportedly migrated from the valley since August 2019