Amid rising attacks, 4,000 J&K traders, students back in Valley
Most of them were escorted back home by the volunteers of Khalsa Aid.
SRINAGAR: More than 4,000 Kashmiri traders, students and workers allegedly hounded out of various places across the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack reached the Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Most of them were escorted back home by the volunteers of Khalsa Aid, an international NGO of Sikhs, with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones around the world.
Former chief minister and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, "I salute our Sikh brethren who came to the aid of young Kashmiris all over the country. Admire their exemplary spirit to serve with utmost dignity & fortitude."
Similar words of appreciation have come from various political parties - both separatist and mainstream, social and religious groups of the Valley and their leaders. Also, many people took to social media platforms to express their gratitude to Khalsa Aid and various other local Sikh bodies of Jammu and other parts of the country for helping the Kashmiris in distress.
Union human resources and development minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday denied that the Kashmiri students were targeted in many parts of the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and said, “There is no threat to Kashmiri students as it is being made out to be. Countrymen are angry because of the Pulwama attack, but no Kashmiri student has been assaulted.”
But many students who reached home during the past two days narrated many horror stories and said how they were attacked or harassed by locals, mainly activists of right-wing groups in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and in some other states. They also said that they were harassed and asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations.