Fresh Threats to Kashmiri Pandits Raise Security Concerns in Indian-Administered Kashmir

SRINAGAR (Terror Monitor) — New threats received by Kashmiri Pandits in Indian-administered Kashmir have renewed concerns over the security of those who returned to the Valley after being displaced during the armed insurgency of the 1990s.

Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley during the insurgency in the 1990s. Some later returned under a federal government rehabilitation scheme, taking up government jobs and resettling in the Valley.

Letters that emerged in the final week of August reportedly named several government employees and included the addresses of their homes in Jammu, vehicle registration numbers and phone numbers, heightening concerns over their safety.

Government employee Anil Kaul told Deutsche Welle that he had urged authorities to investigate how the personal information was leaked. He said similar threatening letters had appeared earlier in August, but the latest letters also contained residential addresses, vehicle details and phone numbers that had subsequently circulated on social media.

The letters have been attributed to a relatively obscure group calling itself the “United Liberation Council.” Some security officials have suggested the group may have links to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, although there has been no official confirmation.

Reports said the group first emerged in July, when it issued a poster marking the death anniversary of a former militant commander. Authorities have so far neither verified the authenticity of the letters nor confirmed the existence of the group allegedly behind them.

The latest letters distinguish between Kashmiri Pandits and employees who returned to the Valley under the rehabilitation scheme. They accuse some scheme beneficiaries of working in the interests of elements based outside Kashmir, but provide no evidence to support the allegation.

Farooq Abdullah, president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, described the threats as a “conspiracy,” saying their purpose was to obstruct or delay the restoration of the region’s statehood, which was revoked in 2019.

Abdullah also questioned why Hindu officials from outside the region were not facing similar threats.

His remarks drew strong criticism from Kashmiri Pandit organizations and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused him of showing insensitivity toward the community’s fears and security concerns.

According to official figures, 44,167 Kashmiri families who migrated because of security concerns have been registered since 1990, including 39,782 Hindu families.

Representatives of the Kashmiri Pandit community, however, view the latest threats as part of longstanding security concerns.

Sanjay Tickoo, president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), said the threats should be viewed in the context of targeted killings and persistent security concerns faced by Kashmiri Pandit government employees posted in the Valley.

He said security shortcomings remained and that numerous meetings with authorities following a wave of killings in 2022 had failed to resolve their concerns.

“None of the meetings held since 2022 produced any result,” Tickoo told Deutsche Welle. He also questioned how those issuing the threats obtained government employees’ personal information and how the details reached social media.

Targeted killings have occurred intermittently in Indian-administered Kashmir in recent years. At least seven Kashmiri Pandits were killed in militant attacks between 2020 and 2022 amid an escalation in violence.

One of the most prominent cases involved Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit employee of the revenue department who was shot dead inside his government office in Budgam district in May 2022.

The last confirmed targeted killing of a member of the Kashmiri Pandit community occurred in October 2022, when Puran Krishan Bhat, an orchard owner, was shot dead in Shopian district.

According to former Jammu and Kashmir police chief S.P. Vaid, the latest threats resemble a pattern previously attributed to militant groups. Speaking to Deutsche Welle, he said there was “nothing new” about them.

Vaid said migrant workers employed in the Valley had also faced similar threats in the past.

The notable difference this time, he said, was the method used to issue the threats. Personal information contained in the letters, which would normally not be easily accessible to the public, has been exposed. It remains unclear, however, how the information was leaked or who was responsible for making it public.

KPSS estimates that around 6,500 Kashmiri Pandits who never left the Valley continue to live there, while nearly 4,000 others who returned as government employees under the federal rehabilitation scheme are currently residing in Indian-administered Kashmir.

However, the return and reintegration of those who left the Valley more than three decades ago has not been easy.

Rahul Pandita, journalist and author of Our Moon Has Blood Clots: A Memoir of a Lost Home in Kashmir, said the government’s record on rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits had been unsatisfactory.

“The BJP does not have a comprehensive policy for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus,” Pandita told Deutsche Welle.

He said the government employees posted in the Valley had returned under a scheme introduced during the tenure of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Pandita said some people had recovered their properties and some killings had been investigated, but described these measures as “too little and too late.”

He said the fundamental problem was that no government could guarantee a completely secure environment for the large-scale return of Kashmiri Pandits.

“Regardless of how many measures the government takes, conditions will never become so favorable that Kashmiri Pandits can return without fear,” he said.

According to Pandita, as long as Islamist militancy remains present in the region, Kashmiri Hindus cannot be completely protected from the risk of becoming targets. He said it was ultimately up to Kashmiri Pandits to decide whether they were willing to take such a risk.

Pandita noted that, apart from government employees, some Kashmiri Pandits had returned to establish businesses and were living relatively quietly in the Valley. He described this as perhaps the best possible situation currently available to Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir.

Sushobha Barve, executive secretary of the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, said the recent threats exposed a broader security contradiction.

“Despite claims that normalcy has returned, a very small group of active militants has been able to affect the lives of displaced families,” she told Deutsche Welle. “It is imperative to break this cycle of fear and intimidation.”

Barve said political unease was also increasing over delays in restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, with a sense of deprivation felt across the region.

Amitabh Mattoo, a professor of international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University and an expert on Kashmir affairs, said the return of Kashmiri Pandits could succeed only if they were safe.

“The state has a fundamental responsibility to ensure their security and protect their property, cultural heritage and other legitimate rights,” Mattoo told Deutsche Welle. “However, security measures alone will not be sufficient.”

Mattoo said a safe return would also require a patient reconciliation process, sustained engagement with local civil society, and the gradual rebuilding of trust, social ties and economic relationships among different communities.