SRINAGAR: To send a strong message of communal harmony and brotherhood in the backdrop of ongoing violence in the national capital over the citizenship law, a Kashmiri Pandit group will join local Muslims for a peace march in Srinagar on Friday. The march is aimed at restoring public trust and confidence in the administration and facilitating the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley. “We will be taking out a peace march in Srinagar tomorrow (Friday),” Satish Mahaldar, chairman, Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Migrants, told this newspaper.
He said the peace march would feature civil society members, both Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. “No politician would march with us. Some political leaders did approach me, evincing an interest to march with us, but I told them that rally is apolitical,” Mahalar said. He said Adnan Saim Bhat, a young Bollywood playback singer from downtown Srinagar, would also join the peace march to send out a message that younger generation of Pandits and Muslims want to remain connected to their roots in the Valley.
The marchers would carry white flags to convey the peace message. The march would start from the Press Club and culminate at Safa Kadal, Mahaldar said. The peace march will pass through many sensitive downtown localities, including Habba Kadal, to reach Safa Kadal. “We will be moving in vehicles and not on foot in view of the prevailing security situation in the Valley,” Mahaldar told this correspondent.
Netas not to march
The peace march would feature civil society members, both Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. “No politician would march with us. Some political leaders did approach me, evincing an interest to march with us, but I told them that rally is apolitical,” the organiser of the rally said.