Militancy in Kashmir will not end until the government wins the hearts of the people in the Valley and seeks a solution by talking to Pakistan, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Wednesday.
Condemning the killing of a police officer by militants in the city on Tuesday, he said people will keep on dying till a solution to the Kashmir issue in found.
“The caravan of militancy will not end. Their (BJP) ministers and other leaders issue statements that it has ended, but I want to tell them that this will not end till you do not try to win the hearts of the people of Kashmir and seek its solution after talking to our neighbouring country,” Abdullah told reporters at party headquarters ‘Nawa-i-Subah’ in Srinagar.
Abdullah, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, condemned the killing of assistant sub-inspector of police Mushtaq Ahmad in the Lal Bazar area of the city.
“His son was killed in 2020 by military (in an encounter). It is unfortunate that he (Ahmad) was killed by militants. We do not know who the killer is and who the saviour of the people here is. This is strange. We all condemn it and pray for him. We also pray for the family to bear this loss,” he said.
The NC president sought a “handsome compensation” from the administration for the slain policeman’s family so that they live with dignity.
Asked about the situation in Sri Lanka and whether something like that can happen in India, Abdullah said “anything can happen”.
“God save us. We pray that we do not have to face such a situation. We also pray for the people of Sri Lanka that God take them out of these difficult times they are in. Also, may God let this government understand the situation so that they take steps to avoid it here,” he said.
In response to a question on family planning, Abdullah said whether the government targets a particular community or anyone else, it should understand that India is a country with diversity.
“This is a diverse country. Nothing is similar between Tamil Nadu and Kashmir -- not food, not culture, not language, not even weather -- but what keeps us together is that we have to progress together, and remove poverty, diseases and adversity.
“The biggest aim was unity of India. We have to make diversity stronger, then only will there be unity. If we try to break this diversity, then this country will fall into misery and it will be very difficult to take it out from there,” he added.
Abdullah took a dig at the administration for not allowing political parties to pay homage to July 13, 1931 martyrs.
“It is unfortunate that they not only cancelled its holiday but also stopped people from paying their tributes. This is a huge mistake,” he said.
Asked about the controversy over the national emblem, the NC president said “all this will happen in slavery”.
“They can even run a road roller tomorrow. Pharaoh (an ancient ruler of Egypt) also did this. What had Pharaoh done? He persecuted people. But what happened then? So, let them do it, how much they want to. God is there and He will remain. He belongs to everyone and He is watching all this. A time will come and He will act,” Abdullah said.
(With PTI inputs)
