Insight Bureau: It’s true that when the Kashmir exodus and bloodbath took place in January 1990, VP Singh was the Prime Minister of India with the support of BJP, which did not withdraw support and stayed back in the coalition. Jammu & Kashmir was under Governor’s Rule and Jagmohan was at the helm. All the above is correct. But, there is another angle that cannot be ignored as that was the key factor leading to the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits.
70 dreaded terrorists trained by the Pakistan ISI, were released by Farooq Abdullah Government between July and December 1989, who later led the massacre of Pandits in the valley. Farooq Abdullah gave in to their demands to ensure peace, which never happened. Rajiv Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister then, maintained a stoic silence as he considered Farooq a ‘dear friend’.
When Farooq Abdullah realised his mistake, it was too late and terrorists completely took over. When VP Singh became the PM, he appointed Jagmohan as the Governor without consulting Farooq. That upset Abdullah and he resigned, paving the way for Governor’s Rule. Farooq never liked Jagmohan who had played a key role in the dismissal of his government in 1984.
Those released terrorists continued to spread venom and hatred and forced even the moderate Muslims in the valley either to stay away or fall in line. Their sole objective was to cleanse the valley of Kashmir Pandits – using force or terror. The release of terrorists also demoralised the police forces in J&K as they felt betrayed by the government and political system.
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When VP Singh became the Prime Minister on December 2, 1989, it was too late. And, he too looked helpless before his Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayed, who was known to be sympathetic to the militants’ cause. The abduction of his daughter Dr. Rubiya Sayed and release of 5 dreaded terrorists in return, was said to be staged. Farooq had opposed to the release then, but he himself released 70 terrorists earlier. It was a late realisation by Farooq, but came too late.
The Pandits did not have any option but to leave their homeland as they were targeted and attacked. A handful of terrorists and some radicals unleashed terror in the valley. They not only succeeded in throwing the Pandits out of the valley, but also silenced the moderate and sane voices among the Muslims.
Former J&K DGP Shesh Paul Vaid spilled the beans on Twitter.
Many people in the country do NOT know this #KashmirFiles fact: first batch of 70 terrorists trained by ISI were arrested by J&K Police but ill-thought political decision had them released & same terrorists later on lead the many terrorist organizations in J&K. #KashmirFilesTruth
— Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) March 16, 2022
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