Uddhav Thackeray expresses concern about targeted killings in Kashmir

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expressed concern about the "targeted killings of Hindus and Kashmiri Pandits" in the Kashmir Valley.

Kashmiri Pandits were fleeing the Valley, Thackeray, who also heads the Shiv Sena, said in a statement here.

"Kashmiri Pandits were shown the dream of 'ghar vapasi' (resettlement in the Valley), but they are being targeted and killed. The exodus of Pandits is shocking," he said.

The chief minister assured the Pandit community that "Maharashtra is firmly behind them."

In 1995, when the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition came to power in Maharashtra, Sena founder Bal Thackeray ensured a quota in educational institutes in the state for the children of Kashmiri Pandits, he noted.

"Our government is in touch with Kashmiri Pandit leaders and will do everything it can for their protection," Thackeray further said.