Farooq Abdullah's Threat Remark on Kashmiri Pandits Draws Sharp Rebuke
Farooq Abdullah calls threats to Kashmiri Pandits a conspiracy to stall statehood, blaming the LG administration; BJP and displaced community condemn the remarks.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has stirred a political controversy by suggesting that recent threat letters targeting Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley are part of a deliberate plot to deny Jammu and Kashmir the restoration of statehood. He also held the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha responsible for fostering an atmosphere of fear.
Speaking at a time when fresh threat communications have left Pandit employees and their families anxious, Abdullah questioned the selective nature of the warnings. He pointed out that senior officials currently posted in Kashmir, including the Director General of Police and district superintendents, are Hindus from outside the Union Territory, yet they have not received similar threats. "If Kashmiri Pandits are getting threats, why aren't they?" he asked, alleging that the situation is being engineered to stall the region's political restoration.
The former chief minister also took aim at the Centre's claims of restored normalcy, noting that officials travel abroad asserting that militancy has been eliminated. He demanded answers on the origin of the current threats, directly accusing the LG-led administration of responsibility.
The remarks have provoked sharp condemnation. Satish Mahaldar, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum, called the comparison between government officers and displaced Pandits flawed and hurtful, noting that officers serve with state protection while Pandits seek to return to ancestral homes abandoned decades ago.
The BJP also reacted strongly, with spokesperson Ankur Sharma terming Abdullah's statement shocking and ridiculous. Sharma accused the NC leader of denying the historical suffering of Kashmiri Pandits and attempting to discredit their pain through conspiracy theories.