Kashmir problem will be solved once Article 370 is removed: Anupam Kher

JAMMU: The day Article 370 is removed and people from Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat and other parts of the country are allowed to settle in Jammu and Kashmir, the 'Kashmir problem' would be solved, actor Anupam Kher said today.

Kher, a Kashmiri Pandit himself, strongly batted for separate townships for the community, stating that it was not only a demand but their birth right.

"The day article 370 (giving special status to J&K) is removed, the Kashmir problem would be solved. The day people from Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat and other parts of the country are given permission to settle down in Kashmir, the problem would be solved, but that does not suit anyone," he told reporters here.

"I definitely support the idea of a separate homeland, regarding composite township is concerned, let the Kashmiri Pandit colonies be established in Kashmir and after that if (other) people want to settle let them do that," he said.

The 60-year-old actor noted that it was not possible for the community, who were hounded out of their homes 26 years ago to return and settle in their old houses as most of them were either burnt or sold under distress sale.

"It is not possible (to return to the old houses)..Memories remain, the way they were thrown out, how can they live in that house", Kher said.