SRINAGAR (The Thursday Times) — National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has said Pakistan is protecting Kashmiris by raising their issue at international forums, drawing accusations of treason from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking at a party workers’ convention in Baramulla, in north Kashmir, on Saturday, the three-time former chief minister of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir said Kashmiris were surviving because Pakistan kept their issue alive internationally. “Pakistan is going to many places and talking about Kashmiris,” he said, according to IANS, adding that the Indian state’s intentions towards Kashmiris were not right.
“He is protecting us,” Abdullah said of Pakistan, The Week reported, alleging that the Centre’s intentions were not good.
Little hope from New Delhi
Abdullah said there was little hope for Kashmiris from the Centre. “Will you expect that they will do justice for you?” he asked, PTI reported. He also alleged that Muslims were being oppressed in states governed by the BJP.
He criticised the functioning of medical institutions, saying their directors and committees had lost the power to decide on equipment and appointments. Referring to the head of Jammu and Kashmir’s administration, he said he had raised the end of autonomy with him, and that the official had admitted it to his face, IANS reported.
BJP accuses Abdullah of treason
BJP leader Ravinder Raina called the remarks condemnable and accused Abdullah of committing “an act of treason,” alleging that Pakistan had backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir for decades, ANI reported.
The party’s Jammu and Kashmir spokesperson, Altaf Thakur, described the statement as “seditious and anti-national” and demanded police action against Abdullah. BJP Jammu and Kashmir chief Sat Sharma sought a public apology and suggested that Abdullah move to Pakistan if he continued making such remarks.
Congress leader Rashid Alvi also distanced himself from Abdullah’s position, while questioning Pakistan’s handling of the part of Kashmir it administers.
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