New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that militant groups are also a political constituency and that aspect should not be ignored as it would remove options going forward.
Abdullah was speaking at an event, Understanding Kashmir, in the capital, organised by the Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals.
The former J&K CM took questions from audience during the event, but refused to take questions from the press, giving little opportunity to seek a clarification on whether he was suggesting holding a dialogue between union government and militant organisations.
Talking in context of al-Qaeda formally instating 23-year-old Zakir Musa as its operational chief in Kashmir, Abdullah said, “Threat hai, isse koi inkaar nahi. Magar hum har cheez Musa ke taraazu mein tolein (it is a threat no doubt. But by weighing everything on Musa’s scale]…we will be giving an easy exit to the government of India.”
He went on to state that the largest militant organisation in Kashmir was Hizbul Mujahideen, “which is made up predominantly of Kashmiri youngsters.” “And their aim is political. Their aim is to remove Jammu and Kashmir from India. When we deny that there is a political element even to the violent struggle, we remove option of dialogue in future,” he said.
Abdullah started out by saying that religious extremism in Kashmir was not a new phenomenon and that it had been happening since mid-90s.
“People coming and fighting in Kashmir in the name of religion has been happening since mid-90s. When Pakistan found their ability to galvanise support from local Kashmiris on a political slogan wasn’t working, they gave a slogan of jihad to attract people from other nationalities. Lashkar and Jaish were religious organisations. Musa is an extension of that,” he said.
“Even in militant organisations there is a political constituency and we shouldn’t ignore it because going ahead it will remove options that we should be looking at,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah was also asked a question about opportunism among politicians and about the shrinking space of mainstream politics in Kashmir. He defended himself by claiming that if he wanted to, he could’ve formed a government with BJP in the state but didn’t do it.
“The truth is that if I wanted to be in power I could have been part of J&K government today. I’m telling you this with all the authority at my command. If I had wanted to I could have lobbied to have Mehbooba Mufti removed, I could have offered NC’s support to the BJP as an alternative to the PDP-BJP alliance and I’m sure I would’ve found takers in New Delhi,” he said.
On the question of shrinking political mainstream space, he said that there was no denying that this space had been eroded, and said that the government had failed the people by not taking “a principled stand in human-shield case.”
He also indirectly alleged that the BJP governed Centre was attacking the special status of Kashmir. “Both the [legal] challenges to article 370 and 35-A have been brought about by bodies that are extremely close to the BJP. They are playing with fire. How much more disingenuous do you want to be?” he asked.
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