Now Proved Article 370 Abrogation Failed to Stop Militancy in J&K: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that the spurt in violence and deadly attacks on security forces proved beyond any doubt that militancy has not ended in Jammu and Kashmir contrary to the government’s claim that the abrogation of Article 370 brought peace and stability to the erstwhile state.

“Those people (BJP) were claiming that the entire militancy is because of Article 370, and, after its abrogation, peace would prevail here. They have been proved wrong. We continuously said that Article 370 had nothing to do with militancy and even if it is removed there won’t be any effect on militancy. This has been proved now,” Mr. Abdullah told reporters here.

The former chief minister said that when the NC was in power the BJP would blame the government for every violence incident. “Today, when attacks do take place including in the Jammu region which was comparatively peaceful then, who do you think is responsible?”

Blaming the BJP for renewed violence, Mr. Abdullah said that the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar should focus on bringing the situation to normalcy.

Taking a dig at the BJP, he said that the saffron party exaggerated about the Balakot strikes. He said, “I have not heard any demand for a cross-border attack following the recent terror attack. We know such decisions are taken at a higher level. But we also know military strikes were conducted earlier but (terror) attacks continued. The Balakot strikes did not stop militancy in J&K either. If they can assure that by conducting strikes, they can free the whole J&K from militancy, then we are ready to listen.”

In his reaction to the July 8 Kathua ambush which left five Army jawans dead and five others wounded, the NC leader had earlier said that the terror attack was alarming but the J&K administration seems to be closing itself off from the ground realities. “It is very unfortunate. I think no criticism of this attack is strong enough. To lose five brave army soldiers in the line of duty in one attack is something we should all be alarmed by,” he had said.

Mr. Abdullah also said that the militancy continues to be a problem but, unfortunately, the government is adopting an ostrich approach and burying its head in the sand in the face of the challenging situation. “You cannot wish the problem away. Apparently, this government has convinced itself that somehow August 5, 2019, is the solution to all the problems, including violence and terror, but clearly, that’s not the case. I think the J&K administration needs to be more vigilant. I think they are showing rather lax tendency with regard to the security situation,” he had said.