Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that not every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir is associated with terrorism. He noted that when people begin to look at every Kashmiri with suspicion, it becomes difficult to keep society on the right path.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu, Chief Minister Abdullah said he had expressed his first reaction on the very first day of the incident. “No amount of condemnation is enough. The brutal killing of innocent people in this manner is unacceptable; no religion allows such acts. The investigation is underway, and all culprits must be punished,” he stated.
The Chief Minister emphasised that not every person in Jammu and Kashmir is a terrorist or linked to terrorism. “These are just a few individuals who have always tried to disrupt peace and brotherhood here,” he said.
“Unfortunately, when we begin to view every person in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly every Kashmiri Muslim, with suspicion and portray them as terrorists, it becomes extremely difficult to guide people along the right path,” he added.
Chief Minister Abdullah stressed that those responsible for the incident should face strict punishment, but innocent people must not be targeted. He also pointed out that, at times, educated individuals have been found involved in such acts, but that should not lead to generalising or blaming the entire community.
Chief Minister Abdullah’s remarks came three days after a powerful blast near the Red Fort killed ten people and left several others injured. Investigators are now closing in on a terror module believed to be linked to the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Police have identified the driver of the Hyundai i20 involved in the incident as Dr. Umar un-Nabi, a Pulwama-based physician suspected of having ties to the ‘white-collar’ terror network that was dismantled in Faridabad just hours before the explosion.
