Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference on Saturday stirred a political controversy by suggesting that terrorists should be captured rather than killed, in order to uncover the masterminds behind the recent surge in terror attacks across Jammu and Kashmir.
Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, emphasised that interrogating captured terrorists could provide valuable insights into the broader networks orchestrating these attacks.
Farooq Abdullah also demanded an investigation into the Budgam terror attack and said he have a doubt that is it done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It should be investigated. How is it that the government has come and this is happening? I have a doubt that is it done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government…If they (terrorists) are caught then we will get to know who is doing this. They should not be killed, they should be caught and asked who is behind them…We should check if there is an agency who is trying to destabilise Omar Abdullah,” news agency ANI quoted Farooq Abdullah as saying.
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On being asked if Pakistan should be blamed every time for terrorist attacks in J&K, including the recent Budgam terror attack, Farooq Abdullah said, “There is no question of this, I would say that there should be an investigation into this.”
Reacting to the JKNC president’s statement, NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar said the central government should take Farooq Abdullah’s statement seriously.
“Farooq Abdullah is the tallest personality of the Jammu and Kashmir…He spent his life serve the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I have no doubt about his integrity and honesty. If such a leader is making any statement then the central government, especially the home ministry, should take it seriously and try to work out on how that situation can be resolved,” Sharad Pawar said in Maharashtra’s Baramati.
BJP’s Ravinder Raina questions Abdullah
Questing the former J&K chief minister, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said, “Farooq Abdullah knows that this terrorism is coming from Pakistan… This is a well-known fact. What is there to investigate in this? He knows that the terrorist attacks that are taking place in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and terrorist organizations are involved in this… We all should support our army, police and security forces… We have to fight unitedly against those who are the enemies of humanity…”
Earlier, former deputy CM Kavinder Gupta described the attack as a cowardly attack during festivities.
“There are some people here who are working as per the instructions of Pakistan, this is a cowardly attack on a festive occasion. This is wrong…there is a need to identify people who are carrying out these attacks. There are so many people here who still work as Over Ground Workers and Underground Workers,” he said.
2 labourers from UP hurt in terror attack in Budgam
On Friday evening, two labourers from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Sufiyan and Usman were injured after they came under attack in the Mazhama area of Magam in the central Kashmir district. The duo were taken to a hospital, where their condition was stated to be stable.
This was the fifth terror attack in the Kashmir valley since a new government was formed in the Union Territory last month.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah were among the leaders who condemned the attack.
NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi wondered “why this sudden rise in these attacks immediately after the recent elections”.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra strongly condemned the attack, terming it most unfortunate, and prayed for a speedy recovery of the injured.
Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari described the attack as the worst form of cowardice.
On October 24, two soldiers and two Army porters were killed while another porter and a soldier were injured in a terrorist attack on an Army vehicle six kilometres from the popular tourist destination of Gulmarg.
Earlier that day, terrorists shot at and injured Shubam Kumar, a labourer from Uttar Pradesh, in the Tral area of Pulwama district.
On October 20, a local doctor and six non-local labourers were gunned down by terrorists at a tunnel construction site in the Gagangir area of Ganderbal. A labourer from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian district on October 18.