Jammu: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for the strictest punishment against those responsible for the deadly Delhi blast, but cautioned against branding people of Jammu and Kashmir as sympathisers of terrorism.
Talking to reporters, Abdullah said the actions of a “handful of people” should not define the vast majority of peace-loving residents of J&K.
“Every resident of Jammu and Kashmir is not a terrorist. Not every Kashmiri is on the side of terrorists. It is only a handful of people who have tried to disturb the peace and harmony here,” the chief minister said.
While reacting to the blast in Delhi, CM Abdullah said that it is only a “few people who have ruined peace and brotherhood in the region.”
“It is only a few people who have ruined peace and brotherhood in the region,” news agency ANI reported quoting CM Abdullah as he added that no religion can justify the killing of innocents with such brutality.
CM Abdullah, while condemning the terror attack, said no religion can justify the killing of innocents
“It is highly condemnable. No religion can justify the killing of innocents with such brutality. Investigation will continue, but we must remember one thing – not every resident of Jammu and Kashmir is a terrorist or associated with terrorists,” the Jammu and Kashmir CM said, adding there are a few people who have always ruined peace and brotherhood.
“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,” he added.
The chief minister called for those responsible for the ruthless attack to be ‘severely punished’ while making sure that innocent people are kept out of it.
Talking further about the explosion, the chief minister questioned the security lapses that led to the blast.
“Have we not seen the professor of Universities before this?… Who says that educated people don’t get involved in such things? They do. I am shocked by the fact that, though they were expelled from the job, what kind of investigation was undertaken after that? Why was prosecution not carried out?… We can only help the central government to keep the situation normal, and we are doing that,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha on Thursday said security forces are determined to dismantle the terror ecosystem, but society must also join the fight by standing against terror sympathisers.
“The security forces are determined to dismantle the terror ecosystem, but society, too, must join the fight and discharge its duties. It must stand against the terror sympathisers,” he said.
Sinha said if society does not stand up strongly against terrorists, they will become an existential threat to it and destroy its stability, peace and progress.
“I want to request the enlightened people that it is the need of the hour to expose those who give shelter to terrorists and create extremist narratives. You must stand against such elements,” he said.
Noting that terrorism poses a fundamental threat to peace and progress, Sinha added that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have borne the brunt of terrorism for more than three decades now.
A flight ticket bearing the name of one of the accused behind the Red fort blast, Dr. Adil Ahmad, was recovered from a garbage pile outside his rented house in Aman Vihar Colony, Manakmau, along Ambala Road in Sharanpur on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.
The ticket showed that he had travelled from Srinagar to Delhi on October 31, just days before the November 10 car explosion.
A Jammu and Kashmir native, Adil, was arrested in Saharanpur last week.
The blast took place in an explosives-laden car that was being driven by Dr Umar Nabi, who hailed from south Kashmir’s Pulwama. He has emerged as key in a terror network spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
So far, eight people, including seven from Jammu and Kashmir, have been arrested for their alleged links to the interstate “white collar” Jaish-e-Mohammam (JeM) terror module epicentred in Haryana’s Faridabad.
