Kashmiri Pandit migrant employees observed a day’s hunger strike in transit camps in the Valley on Sunday as an homage to their colleague Rahul Bhat who was shot dead in his office by terrorists on this day last month. The employees who participated in the hunger strike are recruited under the PM Package.

Rahul Bhat was killed while working in the tehsildar’s office at Chadoora in Budgam.

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The PM Package employees are protesting for the last one month in support of their demand to be relocated to safe places outside the Valley as they were not feeling safe in Kashmir in the face of targeted killings.

The employees, in a press release, said that the PM Package employment was a way to provide jobs to address the economic issues of the displaced community. This package was not linked with the rehabilitation plan of the displaced Kashmiri Hindu community, but it was the government’s initiative to see that these employees become ambassadors of peace and bridge the gap between majority and minority communities. Unfortunately, this did not happen on the ground but they became “scapegoats”.

Despite the official apathy, they were doing their duties regularly knowing full well that the Union Territory (UT) administration is not working in their favour. “In the last three years, we have witnessed a surge in the killings of Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus who have always been the flag bearers of nationalism and have openly supported the Government of India,” added the press release.