SRINAGAR: Kashmiri Pandit groups on Monday expressed concern over the purported threat letter issued by terror outfit United Liberation Council (ULC), which is said to be the front of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The government has increased security in the area of the Valley, where Pandits reside, and asked the Pandit employees to work from home for some time.
The purported threat letter was issued by the terror outfit after last month’s back-to-back attacks in south Kashmir in which a policeman and two migrant workers from Chhattisgarh were killed. The letter singled out six Pandit employees working in a government department.
The group shared the names of the six employees, along with their phone numbers, and claimed that they had full details, including names of their family members and locations. Sources said after the threat, security forces have increased security in the areas where the Pandits reside.
“The security forces have increased patrolling and surveillance in the areas inhabited by Pandits,” they said. Ranjan Jotshi, vice-president, All Migrant Displaced Employees Association Kashmir, expressed concern over the threat to Pandit employees and called for enhanced protection.
He said the government should provide adequate security to those named in the list and ensure the safety and security of every Pandit employee posted in the Valley as well as their families.
In view of the security concerns, the administration has asked Pandit employees posted in the Valley to work from home for some time.
“We have been told to work from home till August 25,” said a PM Package Kashmiri Pandit employee. An influential Pandit group—Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) said the recent terror attacks in south Kashmir, followed by fresh threat posters naming Kashmiri Pandit employees have once again exposed the chilling sense of vulnerability among KPs in Kashmir.
The KPSS questioned how the personal details of six employees including their phone numbers, became public. “Was it a security lapse, a confidentiality breach or a deliberate leak?” the group asked.
“Fix the loopholes. Protect the vulnerable—before history repeats itself,” the KPSS posted on X. Another KP group Panun Kashmir convenor Dr Agnishekhar said publication of names and personal contact details accompanied by explicit threats to individuals and their families is a matter of grave concern.
Calls for threat assessment by security agencies grow
KP group Panun Kashmir convenor Agnishekhar urged L-G Manoj Sinha to direct police and security agencies to undertake a comprehensive threat assessment of all persons named in the threat letter and their immediate families and review the security of Pandit employees working in sensitive government departments.