National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Saturday called for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Kashmir Valley, reported the Hindustan Times.

Thousands of pandits were forced out of the region in the late 1980s and early 1990s by targeted militant violence against them.

“I hope that our brothers and sisters who have left from here come back home,” Abdullah said. “Now the time has come, they should return to their homes. We do not think only about Kashmiri Pandits, but we also think about the people of Jammu.”

Abdullah’s remarks came a day after his son, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah, staked a claim to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir.

The party won 42 out of the 90 seats contested in the recently concluded Assembly elections while Congress clinched six. Their ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), won one seat.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which won one constituency, backed the National Conference while four Independent MLAs also extended support to the party.

If Kashmiri Pandits choose to return to the Valley, they would be warmly welcomed back, the National Conference chief said. He added that the incoming government would implement initiatives for their return.

“I think their return is long due,” Abdullah said. “They should have come back long back and live at their homes. We should treat them well, they should also feel that the National Conference government is not their enemy. We are Indians and we want to take everyone along.”

The recently concluded Assembly elections were the first in Jammu and Kashmir in 10 years, and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019. Article 370 gave special status to the erstwhile state.

The Centre in August 2019 also bifurcated the state into two Union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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