Kashmir will meet Gaza fate in absence of India-Pak dialogue- Farooq Abdullah

Kashmir will meet Gaza fate in absence of India-Pak dialogue: Farooq Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference MP Farooq Abdullah said that Kashmir could meet the same fate as Gaza and Palestine if it fails a find a solution through dialogue with Pakistan. The Gaza strip and Palestine are under a multi-front attack by Israel following Hamas’ October 7 assault in southern Israel that left over 1,200 people dead. Hamas militants also kidnapped scores of Israelis as well as foreign tourists during the assault.

“We will meet the same fate as Gaza and Palestine if we do not talk to Pakistan and maintain friendly relations with our neighbours. Why is it that Nawaz Sharif, who is set to become the PM of Pakistan, is shouting from the top of his lungs that ‘we are ready to talk’, but we are not responding?” Abdullah said speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2023

Invoking BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Abdullah pointed out that we can change our friends but not our neighbours. “PM (Narendra) Modi also said that war is not an option and that talks are necessary. Where is that dialogue? If we remain friendly with our neighbours, both will progress,” Abdullah added. “If we do not find a solution through dialogue, we will meet the same fate as Gaza and Palestine, which are being bombed by Israel…,” he said.

Abdullah’s remarks came in the backdrop of the killing of five Indian Army personnel in Poonch and a retired police official being shot dead inside a Baramullah mosque. Three civilians were later found dead after they were picked up for questioning.

The remarks came in for strong criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party which termed Abdullah’s advocacy for dialogue with Pakistan as ‘unfortunate’. “Farooq saab should learn now, this regime is not going to bow down before Pakistan. We tried, they have backstabbed us again and again,” senior BJP leader Hina Shafi Bhat said.

Abdullah has been critical of the BJP’s claims of normalcy in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its special status in August 2019. On Sunday, Abdullah said that terrorism cannot be eradicated by “shouting normalcy” and “propagating” tourist arrivals.

“I regret the killing (of the officer). Those who are claiming normalcy are silent… they tried to heal the wounds in a superficial manner rather than addressing the root cause. The commoners should understand that we are losing our soldiers, officers and commoners,” he said.

The NC president said that the central government needs to find the “right perspective” to end the bloodshed in J&K. “Terrorists attacked and martyred our brave soldiers, and later three locals were tortured to death. This is tragic as we are fighting against terrorism and not against our own people. If we annoy our people, we will never win this war,” he had said.

As many as 20,000 people have lost their lives in Gaza since the start of Israel’s assault, the Hamas-run Health ministry said. Gaza, the Palestinian enclave has been decimated in air-strikes, prompting mounting pressure on Israel to scale back the Gaza counter-offensive.