Kashmiri politicians were back to bickering on Saturday over former chief minister Farooq Abdullah's remarks, which purportedly hinted at the involvement of locals or Pakistani militants in the Pahalgam terror attack.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti alleged Farooq was connecting Kashmiris with the attack, prompting the National Conference to accuse her of endangering the lives of Kashmiris by twisting his statement.
"Farooq sahab's statement implicating Kashmiris in the Pahalgam terror attack is deeply disturbing & regrettable. As a senior leader that too as a Kashmiri his statement risks fueling divisive narratives providing ammunition to certain media channels to further stereotype & stigmatise Kashmiris & Muslims,” Mehbooba posted on X.
"This isn’t only misleading but fatal at a time when students & traders from J&K are already facing heightened vulnerability & attacks," she added.
Mehbooba was reacting to Farooq’s interview with a news agency where he said he did not think incidents like the Pahalgam attack could happen "unless somebody supports them”.
Mehbooba said Kashmiri politicians should draw inspiration from the widow of Pahalgam terror attack victim Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, Himanshi Narwal, who urged people not to “go after Muslims and Kashmiris”.
“We should draw inspiration from Himanshi Narwal, who despite the martyrdom of her husband, urged Indians not to blame and target Kashmiris or Muslims,” she said.
Farooq, in the video clip uploaded by Mehbooba as proof, does not use words like "Kashmiris" or "locals", but apparently hints at the role of locals or Pakistani militants.
“I do not think such things can happen unless somebody supports them. They (militants) came there. How did they come? I had said earlier also when Moulana (Masood) Azhar was released, not to release him. This is because he is familiar with the routes. Who knows, he can also be involved in it,” Farooq said in the interview.
“Nobody listened to me. They took him across. Or (Mushtaq) Latram, who killed kids. He killed my MLA inside his home. (Also) my cousin. We had caught them with great difficulty. They took a plane to Kandahar and did not listen,” he added.
Farooq was referring to the BJP-led government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee that released Azhar, a Pakistani, and Latram, a Kashmiri, in exchange for the hostages on board an Indian Airlines plane hijacked by militants and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999.
NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq termed Mehbooba’s interpretation shocking.
“Dr Farooq Abdullah never mentioned 'Kashmiris' or 'locals'. At a time when we’re trying to protect Kashmiri students, traders, and families across India, it’s shameful to misrepresent his words and endanger them further. Mehbooba should apologise and delete that tweet unless she can prove he (Farooq) said what she claims. This is not politics, it’s recklessness," Sadiq said.
Peoples Conference leader Sajad Lone urged all politicians to exercise restraint.
“These are trying circumstances. We have lakhs of students and traders outside Kashmir who are scared. There are war clouds. Some YouTubers have descended here to create a narrative that fits the stereotype of a hostile Kashmiri. Amid all this, accusations and counter-accusations by local parties will not help. It is most unwanted and undesirable,” Lone said.
“Let us face it. There is nobody squeaky clean out here. Time to take a hiatus for at least the coming month. This is not a sermon. Trust me, I, too, am itching for a fight. But not now. Will try my best to stay out of any political mud-slinging,” he added.
Kashmiris have faced reprisals within and outside the Valley following the April 22 attack. Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said Kashmiris had faced extra-judicial killings, arrests, destruction of homes in explosions in the Valley and harassment outside in the aftermath of the Baisaran Valley massacre.