National Conference President Farooq Abdullah has attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- led Central government for showing a pleasant picture of Jammu & Kashmir when the reality is quite the opposite. He insisted that the Centre is determined to project normalcy in the state but the people here are facing violent attacks and living in fear.
Speaking to the party workers at Surankote in the border district of Poonch, the former chief minister, said, “What normalcy are they talking about? Is it normal that three Army soldiers get injured in a blast in Shopian, a non-local banker shot dead by militants in Kulgam, and another non-local labourer shot dead, and another injured by militants in Budgam in a single day.”
Abdullah said that first step to resolving any problem is to acknowledge it. However, the Centre has adopted a policy of ‘denialism’ in regards to the increasing violence in the valley state, he said, questioning how the Centre will take any action to help the people of Jammu & Kashmir? He took a jibe at the government, “It wants everyone to keep their heads down and pretend all is well in Kashmir, including Kashmiri Pandits.”
The former Chief Minister was referring to the rise in targeted killings of Kashmiri pandits and Hindus in the valley. In the past three months, due to targeted killings more than 13 civilians have lost their lives.
