Srinagar: National Conference working president Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed disappointment over the outcome of the All Party Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the “refusal” of the Centre to acknowledge the gravity of the situation in Kashmir will flare up the current unrest.
“It is disappointing how the central government had turned its focus on the tried, tested and failed formulations of looking at the issue in Kashmir through the prism of Pakistan and radicalisation,” the former Chief Minister said in a statement here.
“The unrest in Kashmir is not because of Pakistan. While suggesting so might be politically expedient and convenient for the Centre, it comes with the unimaginable risk of alienating the people of Kashmir to an irrevocable and irreparable limit. When that limit is breached, no amount of rhetoric or grandstanding will help,” he said. He expressed dismay at the “refusal” of the government to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.
“I am dismayed that New Delhi has yet again refused to acknowledge the gravity of the already volatile situation in the Valley. This will add further fuel to the current unrest,” Omar said.
Launching a scathing attack on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he accused it of advancing an anti-Kashmir narrative and insulting the Kashmiris.
“Whose interests is PDP trying to serve by distorting the ground reality in Kashmir? Towards what self-serving political goal does PDP want to insult and defame the people of Kashmir?
“Given how PDP has provided the central government with an opportunity to advance an inherently anti-Kashmir narrative, it is not surprising that the All Party Meeting turned out to be a cruel, practical joke with the people of Kashmir,” the former Chief Minister said.
He alleged that Baig’s suggestion that youths are becoming militants for ‘two sets of Kameez Pajamas’ was an indication of how his party looked down upon the people, especially the youth of Kashmir.
“While we disagree with their ways and methods and reiterate that violence is unacceptable, we cannot afford to ridicule and insult them and consequently push them further away from the system,” he said. He said such remarks from PDP, first from Mehbooba and then from Baig, were augmenting the anger and frustration in the Valley, he said.