Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s statement regarding Pakistani claims on Kashmir was incorrect.
He was reacting to Abdullah’s statement at a party event in the Budgam district on Saturday, in which the NC president claimed that Pakistan raking up the Kashmir issue at international fora had kept the region safe. “I respect Farooq sahab, but his statement is completely incorrect. If anyone is an enemy of India and the people of J&K, it is Pakistan,” Azad posted on his X handle. Shia leader and former minister Imran Ansari, while castigating the NC president, urged people not to emulate Abdullah. “Their so-called rebellion is a rented rebellion. This space is allowed only for a select few. Whatever they say is allowed. If a common Kashmiri speaks in a similar tone, the government will in seconds put that person in detention under PSA or UAPA,” he added. “Farooq Abdullah’s pro-Pakistan statement is seditious and anti-national, and he should be booked for making such remarks.
A leader who has taken an oath under the Indian Constitution cannot be allowed to question the country’s intentions towards its own people while giving political legitimacy to Pakistan’s narrative,” BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said. He said Pakistan “inflicted immense suffering on Jammu and Kashmir” through its sponsorship of terrorism, sending the region into decades of violence and targeted killings.
