Srinagar, May 29 (KNS): President Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday extended greetings to the people, especially the Kashmiri Pandit community on the eve of Mela Kheer Bhawani.

In a statement issued to KNS, Bukhari said the holy festival epitomizes mutual brotherhood and communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir. “This festival offers a shining example of unity in diversity of cultures, regions and religions for the whole world,” the President JKAP remarked.

He prayed and hoped that this festival would usher in peace, progress and prosperity for the people of J&K. Bukhari said that Kashmiri Pandits are an important part of J&K’s pluralistic ethos and this distinctive culture is incomplete without the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandit brethren.

“The celebration of this festival which witnesses participation across the religious divide is the hallmark of pluralistic ethos of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bukhari observed, adding that the Kheer Bhawani Mela will continue to be the manifestation of J&K’s age old tradition of amity and brotherhood.