LeT-linked terror group issues threat letter to Kashmiri Pandits
The United Liberation Council (ULC), described by Indian intelligence sources as a front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has issued a threat letter to Kashmiri
The United Liberation Council (ULC), described by Indian intelligence sources as a front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has issued a threat letter to Kashmiri Pandit officials working in Jammu and Kashmir, claiming to possess details of their families, locations and places of work. The terror outfit warned Kashmiri Pandits that they would be targeted even if they moved to Jammu. Read Full Story The letter, dated August 7, also warned the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, the Director General of Police and officials in New Delhi against continuing what the group described as the "attachment of properties" and "harassment of relatives of supporters and fighters" of the terrorists. A Srinagar-based senior journalist confirmed the authenticity of the letter to India Today Digital. The journalist also said that such threat letters trigger panic among the Kashmiri Pandit community, especially in Jammu. MK Dhar, the Media Secretary of Pandit advocacy group Panun Kashmir, called the warnings and threats "unacceptable". "For how much longer must Kashmiri Hindus live in hiding?" he asked. Kashmiri Pandits were forced to migrate from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s due to a surge in terrorism, targeted killings and threats against the community. Terrorists issued warnings through local mosques, asking Kashmiri Hindus to convert to Islam, leave the Valley or face death. This period is the darkest chapter in the history of the Kashmiri Pandits, triggering a mass exodus from their homeland.
While Kashmiri Pandits migrated to different parts of the country, a large number settled in Jammu. LET-LINKED TERROR OUTFIT THREATENS PANDITS, J&K COPS In the communication, the ULC threatened retaliation and specifically singled out administrative departments, including the Revenue Department, claiming that several Kashmiri Pandit officials were employed there. The letter further claimed that the group had information about the officials and their family members and warned that they could be targeted even if they moved to Jammu. The ULC mentioned six government employees belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community. India Today Digital is not disclosing any details regarding the employees mentioned in the threat letter by terrorists of the LeT-linked ULC. The letter also contained a threat against police personnel. It claimed that the force was predominantly made up of local residents and suggested that this would make individual personnel vulnerable to attacks. The communication letter was signed by a person identifying himself as Ahmad Bilal, described as the group's "Media Coordinator", under the designation "Soldier of Resistance". KASHMIRI PEOPLE SLAM TERRORISTS FOR THREATS The threat has drawn condemnation from Kashmiri voices, including Junaid Qureshi, Director of the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), a think tank based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Reacting to the letter, Qureshi condemned the threat against Kashmiri Pandits and said Kashmiri Muslims had failed the community in the past but would not allow such attacks to happen again.
The BriefWire