PM Narendra Modi promises to work for Kashmiri Pandits

Srinagar/Leh: Calling for a global fight against terror, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "The Indian armed forces are suffering more casualties from terrorism than from war. This is a global problem, and all humanitarian forces of the world should unite to fight it. India is committed to strengthening and uniting these humanitarian forces."

This was not only Mr Modi’s maiden visit to Ladakh as PM, he also became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Kargil after the 1999 war. Speaking at a public rally in Kargil, he said: "Today I’m hearing the sound of claps, but when I came earlier we heard the sound of guns." He said the armed forces deployed in border areas were well-connected with people who lived there and recalled the initial information on Pakistani infiltrators’ occupying some strategic heights in Kargil prior to the 1999 clash came from a shepherd named Tashi Namgyal.

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Both at Kargil and earlier in Leh, Mr Modi assured the troops defending India’s borders with Pakistan and China in Ladakh that the entire nation was behind them. "India is committed to strong armed forces and to equipping them with modern arms and technology," he said.

Mr Modi’s remarks came close on the heels of India’s rising concerns over repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan and an increasing number of militant attacks in Kashmir, the latest carried out Monday night on a BSF convoy at Pampore in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, that left eight personnel including an officer injured.

The PM was flanked by J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, governor N.N. Vohra, Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag and national security adviser Ajit Doval as he addressed the troops. The Prime Minister also pledged that he would eradicate the evil of corruption from India. While pledging "Na khaon ga, na khany dounga (Will neither take bribes nor will allow anyone to take it)," he said he would fight corruption and work with all those who are against corruption.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to work for the welfare of displaced Kashmiri pandits, refugees from erstwhile West Pakistan and the kin of all those killed in militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the days of their neglect were over. "See the condition of Jammu and Kashmir, where 20 per cent of the population is displaced. We want to settle these displaced people and give them opportunities of (earning a) livelihood," he said. "More than 200,000 displaced are refugees from West Pakistan, more than 400,000 are Kashmiri pandits and over 8-10 lakh are those who lost their families in terrorist attacks. These are also our brothers and sisters, and we have to think about them."

He said governments in the past had shown apathy to these people, but "now those days have gone". Mr Modi added: "They (J&K’s displaced people) are our brothers and sisters and our family. Their joys and sorrows are ours. Their development is our determination and we will move forward on this through a number of schemes."