Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday termed escalation in violence on Line of Control (Loc) and spurt in militant attacks as direct fallout of New Delhi’s post surgical attack rhetoric.
“What we saw after surgical strikes New Delhi indulging in rhetoric and provoking Pakistan again and again. Statements like ‘leave alone attack, Pakistan won’t dare to look towards India from now on’ were issued. Even Defense Minister threatened Pakistan of taking away both its eyes in case it dared to look towards India. We are now bearing its consequences,” Omar told media persons after addressing a convention of party delegates in this South Kashmir district.
“The attacks on our security establishments are the result of these provocations and rhetoric,” Omar said. He was referring to surge in skirmishes along the LOC and attack at army base in Nagrota and Samba in Jammu. Omar said after surgical strikes government instead of issuing rhetorical statements should have kept mum.
“The government should have focused on their job than indulging in unnecessary talking,” Omar said. He said the job of the government is to work and that of opposition is to talk but here the roles have been reversed.
“Even after demonetization government claimed that terrorism would be wiped out but nothing of that sort happened,” Omar said.
Reiterating that dialogue is the only way forward, Omar said the onus for creative conducive atmosphere for it lies with both New Delhi and Islamabad.
“I agree right now the atmosphere is not conducive for talks. But to create that atmosphere both the countries have to take the initiative. Pakistan can’t expect only us to take the initiative and vice versa,” said Omar.
Earlier, Omar hit out at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for failing to reach out to people in South Kashmir who bore the maximum brunt of violence during the recent uprising.
“Where is that Mehbooba Mufti who used to shed tears for people when Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were in chair? Today the youth – who were promised jobs and sense of security- are waiting for a single word of sympathy from her. But she is busy having scooty ride and discussing about her college days when she used to have golgappas,” Omar lamented.
“I wonder which is her real face, that one or this one,” he said.
Omar said that people used to look towards Mehbooba expecting she would not let them down. “They hoped that what her predecessors – Farooq, Omar, Azad and even Mufti Sayeed could not do for them, she would do. But now the result is before you,” Omar said.
Omar claimed that his party has never changed its stance.
“We always maintained that Kashmir issue is to be solved politically and we always stuck to it. Our party doesn’t believe in talking in different tones in New Delhi and Srinagar.”
He said that he is on record to have told then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Sonia Gandhi that economic packages are fine but it is not the alternative to solve the Kashmir issue. “Our party is not for power, but principles,” Omar said.
Senior party leaders including General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, Nasir Aslam Wani, Sakina Itoo, MLC Syed Bashir Ahmad Veeray, MLA PahlagamAltafKaloo and MLA Home Shalibugh Abdul Majeed Bhat (Larmi), Tanvir Sadiq and Imran Dar also addressed the convention.
