Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday warned against branding all Kashmiris as terrorists, saying those involved in the Delhi blast should be severely punished but innocents should be spared.
The chief minister’s warning came against the backdrop of police detaining hundreds of people during a Valley-wide crackdown over the alleged involvement of some local doctors in militant activities.
Omar on Thursday condemned the blast near the Red Fort, which killed at least 12 people, but said it was only a few people who were determined to “ruin peace and brotherhood in the region”.
“Killing of people so mercilessly, no religion or purpose can justify it. The investigation will continue, but we must remember one thing — not every resident of Jammu and Kashmir is a terrorist or associated with terrorists,” he said.
“Unfortunately, when we look at every resident of J&K and every Kashmiri Muslim with a single ideology and think that each one of them is a terrorist, it is difficult to keep the people on the right track.”
The chief minister also questioned the “security failure” that led to the blast.
Asked to comment on the involvement of doctors in the terror act, Omar said there was nothing new in it.
“Have we not seen professors of universities before this? I also remember there was one associate professor of Kashmir University (who was killed in 2018). Where is it written that educated people don’t get involved in such things? They do,” he said.
The chief minister said he was surprised that one of the accused doctors had been sacked but there was no follow-up action or prosecution.
“Expelling from service did not end the issue. The result is in front of you,” Omar said. “If you had evidence of his involvement in terrorism, you should have gone to court.”