Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, has lambasted India for abruptly branding Ladakhi climate activist Sonam Wangchuk as having “Pakistan links,” saying the same figure was until recently hailed as an environmental warrior by the Modi regime.
Speaking at the launch of senior journalist Harinder Baweja’s book They Will Shoot You, Madam: My Life Through Conflict, Omar said that New Delhi is betraying both Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir by failing to fulfil promises and delaying the restoration of statehood, thereby deepening mistrust in the region.
He said India had misled Ladakhis with “impossible” assurances, including the Sixth Schedule, just to ensure their participation in elections. “Everyone knew giving Sixth Schedule to Ladakh was nearly impossible for a region sharing frontiers with China and Pakistan. Yet, promises were made only to get electoral participation,” he noted.
He criticised the abrupt shift in stance towards Ladakhi leaders, particularly climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. “Until yesterday, he was being praised as an environmental warrior and thanked for supporting UT status in 2019. Suddenly, he is being linked with Pakistan. Where did this connection come from?” Omar asked, referring to the smear campaign against Wangchuk who was recently detained under the black law National Security Act (NSA) after protests turned violent, leaving four people dead and many injured.
On occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Omar accused India of backtracking on its own three-stage roadmap. “You said first delimitation, then elections, then statehood. The first two are done, but the third has gone nowhere. And then you wonder why there is a trust deficit,” he remarked.
He cautioned that the trust deficit was eroding public faith. He also criticised attempts to link restoration of statehood with incidents like the Pahalgam attack. “Does Pakistan now decide whether J&K should have statehood?” Omar asked.
