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Panun team calls polls meaningless

"There is a need," Panun Kashmir convenor Agnishekhar said, "for creating an adequate political space for the community within the valley to prevent any further exodus. This can be achieved only by the geo-political re-organisation of the state."

The delegation also asked the committee to determine the root cause for the 'forced displacement' of 350,000 Pandits and address the basic issues of the community, including 'genocide and continued neglect'.

Agnishekhar said the delegation also listed the 'failures' of successive state and national governments in 'discharging their constitutional obligations towards the forcibly exiled ethnic religious minority'.

Meanwhile, in Srinagar, Kashmiri Pandit organisations rejected the Centre's financial package for the return of the displaced Kashmiris, terming it an 'insult' to the community.

Ashwani Chrangoo, chairman of the Panun Kashmir movement, said the package was ill-conceived and tantamount to violation of the model code of conduct.

He said the package reflected the government's poor understanding of a complex problem and ignored the findings and recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, and other human rights bodies.

He added that the issue could not be resolved by 'patchwork methods', but needed a holistic approach.

J N Sapru, working president of the All-India Kashmiri Pandit Conference, termed the package as being 'ambiguous' and left many questions unanswered.

"After having failed in its duty to protect the life and property of the Pandits, the package is a brazen attempt to denigrate them," he said, adding that it would not be possible for people to return to remote villages when their houses had been usurped or purchased under duress.

Panun Kashmir's political affairs committee chairman Dr K L Chowdhary said the exiled Pandits are demanding a political package, which includes the components of a secured environment, so that "we are not thrown out again because of religious extremism".

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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