In the aftermath of the Delhi car blast, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that Kashmiris are being unfairly viewed with suspicion across India, forcing parents to rethink sending their children outside the territory for education and employment.
Speaking at events in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, Omar warned that a dangerous atmosphere has been created in which an entire population is being blamed for the acts of a few.
“In the prevailing circumstances, perhaps parents will not like to send their children outside. When we are looked at with suspicious eyes from every side, when attempts are made to defame us for someone else’s doing, when attempts are made to bring everyone into the ambit of what a few people have done, then it becomes difficult for us to leave for outside,” he said.
The CM said he himself feels unsafe driving a Jammu and Kashmir–registered vehicle in the Indian capital, New Delhi. “Today, even driving a J-K registration vehicle in Delhi is being seen as a crime. Without many security personnel with me, I think twice about taking out my car, wondering if I will be stopped and questioned about where I am from and why I have come there,” he added.
The November 10 explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort claimed 15 lives and triggered a sweeping multi-agency investigation involving the Delhi Police Special Cell, NIA and Crime Branch. More than 500 Kashmiris have reportedly been checked in Faridabad alone as part of heightened profiling and surveillance measures.
Omar noted that a perception is deliberately being created that all Kashmiris are responsible for the Delhi blast.
Omar said Kashmiri youth are becoming the worst victims of this sweeping suspicion. “It doesn’t feel good to say this, but what can one do? A fact is a fact. Because of the involvement of a few, an impression is being created that we are all responsible for what happened in Delhi,” he remarked.
He also strongly criticised the Indian government’s claim that abrogating Article 370 in August 2019 would bring peace. “We were told this cycle of violence would stop after 2019. But it has not. Bloodshed continues. If a bomb is not exploding in Delhi, then it goes off here,” he said, referring to the Red Fort blast and last week’s accidental explosion inside the Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar.
He said that those responsible for security in Jammu and Kashmir must be held accountable. “Responsibility for the prevailing situation lies with those handling security. Why is this still happening? You should ask those responsible. We don’t have that authority,” he said.
Omar stressed that profiling and suspicion of Kashmiris outside the territory would only deepen alienation and insecurity among its people.
