Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and president of the Opposition National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah, on Saturday said he was dismayed at the continued bloodshed in the Kashmir Valley and disappointed at the Centre’s apathy towards this “very grave situation”. He also accused the government of misleading the Supreme Court by saying the situation was improving and is under control.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) too expressed its concern over the killing spree and what it alleged is the Prime Minister’s silence on the “highly disturbing situation” in Kashmir. State general secretary and four-time MLA Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami said the “inhuman and irresponsible attitude” will only aggravate the wave of protests in the Valley.
Expressing profound grief at the continued spate of killings, Mr Abdullah said, “We express our heartfelt solidarity with the families of Muhammad Maqbool Wagay, Sameer Ahmed Wani and Danish Rasool Mir — a Class 12 student, all three of whom lost their lives yesterday; as well as to those fifty plus youth who have lost their lives in this unrest, including two policemen. The pain of their families is incomprehensible and these tragedies are completely inconsolable,” he said in a statement here.
Earlier, Mr Abdullah had tweeted, “Heart-breaking and worrying in equal measure. At what point will the Centre (read Hon. PM) wake up to the crisis here?”
Mr Abdullah said, “Just a day after the Central government misinformed the SC about the situation in the Valley, three youth have lost their lives and more than four hundred have been injured — a lot of them having sustained life threatening, lethal injuries.”
If this is the Central government’s definition of a situation improving or a situation that is allegedly under control, God help the people of Kashmir.”
He expressed complete disappointment at the lack of any political measure taken by the Central government after home minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the Valley. “We had asked for an immediate ban on pellet guns and that security forces as well as the police should be held accountable for any excessive use of force. The killing of Reyaz Ahmed from Chattabal, who was shot dead at point-blank range while riding his scooter, has demolished every possible argument that defends the use of lethal force in the Valley,” Mr Abdullah said. He asked, “Has New Delhi declared a war on the people in Kashmir?”
He said that to blame Pakistan for the unrest or to “delude ourselves” into thinking that this is a law and order situation, is criminal. “There is an extreme sense of resentment and disenchantment among the youth of the Valley and that is the basis of this unrest,” he said, adding, “Every appeal being made, asking New Delhi to engage with Pakistan and the people of Kashmir through a sustained, comprehensive dialogue to resolve the political issue, is falling on deaf ears. There is no sense of concern and empathy from the Central government.”
The NC leader said that the national media too has shifted the traumatic situation in Kashmir back to the proverbial back-burner in a perceived effort to distort the reality in the Valley and to suit a particular narrative in New Delhi in the allegedly larger ‘national interest.’
“The sense of bereavement, injustice and hopelessness in Kashmir is widespread and deep. New Delhi’s continued arrogance in refusing to acknowledge this to presumably save its government in J&K with PDP goes against not only all tenets of justice and humanity but also against the interests of the country and its people; against the very fabric of the country’s constitution,” he alleged.
He further said, “In the middle of this harrowing situation, Mehbooba Mufti is solely and primarily interested in her ridiculous self-marketing exercises by going to the extent of playing out video footage of board meetings and administrative meetings on Doordarshan, to pretend that she has a bone of empathy and humanity in her and that she is still around apparently. Nothing could be more insensitive to the suffering and bereaved families at this juncture than to see Mehbooba Mufti on the evening news every day addressing meetings on far less pressing issues than the protection of the lives of our youth. The enactment of fake ‘civil society’ meetings is not an alternative for public outreach and solidarity. The emphasis remains on optics rather than substance.”
Mr Abdullah said that despite nearly 300 youth being shot in their eyes with pellet guns, many of them permanently blinded, the state and the Central governments seem to be encouraging the use of pellet guns through their inaction and silence rather than banning their use. “It is evident that their sole concern is political survival based on a quid-pro-quo arrangement where PDP has sold out to the BJP and BJP’s Central government in New Delhi has in turn quite apparently extended its unconditional protection and patronage to an inefficient, insensitive and inept state government in J&K where contradictory and bizarre statements have become the norm instead of the exception,” he said.
The NC leader said that both the Centre as well as the state government should acknowledge the gravity of the situation in the Valley and take long-term, political initiatives to address the alienation and resentment there rather than looking at this situation with an operative prism. “Kashmir is a political issue and nothing short of a comprehensive, sustained political dialogue with all stakeholders in the Valley as well as Pakistan can serve as an acceptable alternative on the policy level,” he said.
Has New Delhi declared war on Kashmir : Omar Abdullah
