J-K: Kashmiri Pandits vote for returning to their ancestral land

Seventy-nine-year-old Avtar Krishen's last wish is to live the remainder of his life at his ancestral home in Kashmir, and like several displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the septuagenarian said he voted Thursday hoping a new government ends his three-decades "exile".

Krishen is among the seven lakh-odd Kashmiri Pandits who had to flee the Valley in the wake of spread of terrorism in 1989-90.

The Baramulla and Jammu parliamentary seats in Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in the first-phase of the general elections along with 89 other Lok Sabha seats in India on Thursday.

"I have again voted with the hope that a new government will ensure my return and rehabilitation in my native place in Kashmir," said Krishen, who casted his vote at the polling booth in Jagati camp in Jammu for a candidate in Baramulla in Kashmir.

The camp is one of four that houses displaced Kashmiri pandits. Jagati has around 15,000 residents.

The 79-year-old, who fled his home in a remote hamlet in north Kashmir's Kupwara district in 1990, said he has voted with one wish-- returning to his roots.

"I have voted in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014 assembly elections and 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 parliamentary elections. See how many governments were formed since then. But my vote for 'ghar wapsi' has not been addressed at all," said Krishen.

He said he wants to take his last breath in his ancestral place and "this may be the last time that I will vote...my only wish is to return back to my roots"
Kashmiri Pandits living across India, including Jammu and Udhampur, continue to vote for candidates in their home constituencies in Kashmir to keep their connect with the Valley