National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, while reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir will never fall into “their” hands, said on Saturday that apart from talking to Pakistan for lasting peace in the union territory, the government Has no way.
Asked about the killing of two policemen by terrorists in Bandipora district on Friday, Abdullah said, “It is a sad story; Let the government which says everything hunky-dori (speak). Is this hunky-dory? Are people safe? How is a common man safe when your police personnel are not safe?
Asked if he still insists on talks with Pakistan, Abdullah replied, “You have to talk. There is no way (to eliminate terrorism).”
Abdullah was speaking to the media after a function at the National Conference headquarters here.
He said, ‘You can talk to China… What do you say about China, which is coming (and) taking over our territory? Build houses in our area…. Did the government allow a discussion on this in Parliament?”
Addressing migrant Kashmiri Pandits, he said, without naming Pakistan, that “they thought Kashmir would be theirs” through ethnic cleansing. But, he added, “I want to reiterate from this stage that even if the sky and the earth join hands, Jammu and Kashmir will never fall into their hands.”
Referring to the many problems faced by Kashmiri Pandits living in exile from the Valley and lauding the people of Jammu for opening their doors to Pandits, the Lok Sabha MP said they have been used as a vote bank. Without taking names, he said that many promises were made to Kahmiri Pandits but not a single one was fulfilled.
Pointing out that no Hindu person was killed during Partition due to Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah’s intervention, he said, “Our sympathizers started creating problems for us after 1947, thinking that they would get your vote. Sorry but it involved people on your side (both) and on our side who did all they could for their chairs and started creating a rift between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims…. They have created so much hatred for each other (between people of both the communities) that I don’t want to talk much about it.
“Muslims did not spare you (Kashmiri Pandits), but vested interests who do not understand religion, and who will never understand it (left them). They include both you and our people,” he said.
Referring to his government’s initiative to return home to Kashmiri Pandits, he said the scheme had to be called off after their killings. “I can’t take their blood on my hands… the time will come when you will return home with honours,” he said.
He asked both Hindus and Muslims to remove the hatred for each other from their hearts: “We cannot live in peace until it (hatred) goes away, and our enemy will continue to exploit it.”
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