Farooq Abdullah cries 'conspiracy' behind terror attacks in J&K, BJP reacts

Farooq Abdullah called for a probe into the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, suggesting that there were attempts to "destabilise" the Omar Abdullah-led government. 

In Short

• Farooq Abdullah calls for probe amid rise in terror attacks in J&K
• BJP criticises Abdullah for allegedly blaming Indian agencies
• Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP defend Abdullah's remark

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah said there should be an investigation into the recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir to see if there was an attempt to “destabilise the government”. He said the terrorists should be caught and not killed, and they should be questioned to get to the bottom of who's behind the attacks.

Abdullah’s remark was in response to a question on whether Pakistan should be blamed for every terrorist attack in J&K, including the recent Budgam terror attack.

"There is no question about that. I would say that there should be an investigation into this. They (terrorists) should not be killed, they should be caught and asked who is behind them...We should check if there is an agency that is trying to destabilise Omar Abdullah...," Farooq Abdullah said.

The Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference had secured a decisive victory in the recently-concluded Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The party won 42 out of 90 seats, with ally Congress adding six seats to the bag, and Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister.

The J&K government has repeatedly spoken about the demand to restore statehood. Omar Abdullah recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the matter.

Farooq Abdullah questioned if the increase in terror attacks were to "destabilise the J&K government".

The remark has not gone down well with the BJP, which accused Abdullah of “blaming the Indian Army, Indian agencies to escape his responsibility”.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "It is very unfortunate that on such a sensitive issue, instead of giving priority to the nation, some people are giving priority to politics, family and vote bank. It does not befit Farooq Abdullah to blame the Indian Army, Indian agencies to escape his responsibility or to save the sponsors of terrorism".

Jammu and Kashmir BJP President Ravinder Raina said that the army, police, and security forces should have our full support.

"Farooq Abdullah knows that this terrorism is coming from Pakistan... This is a well-known fact. What is there to investigate in this? He knows that the terrorist attacks that are taking place in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and terrorist organisations are involved in this... We all should support our army, police and security forces... We have to fight unitedly against those who are the enemies of humanity...," Raina said.

Meanwhile, the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP defended Farooq Abdullah’s statement.

Sharad Pawar called Farooq Abdullah the "tallest personality of Jammu and Kashmir" and said, "He spent his life serve the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I have no doubt about his integrity and honesty. If such a leader is making any statement, then the central government, especially the Home Ministry, should take it seriously and try to work out how that situation can be resolved".

J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra also claimed that there was a “lack in the intelligence grid” which needed to be addressed.

“But the atmosphere that is being created now seems to be different from that. First of all, the people who are behind this do not want peace in J&K. Second thing is the timing. It seems a bit suspicious because of the timing that you people conducted elections here on the orders of the Supreme Court, all stakeholders participated in it, after such a peaceful election, suddenly this is happening, this does not seem to be a normal thing, some suspicious things come to the fore in this,” he said.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the BJP should take responsibility for the attacks happening in Jammu and Kashmir as law and order falls under the purview of the Lieutenant Governor.

"The LG has the responsibility of law and order and if terrorist attacks are happening there, BJP should take the responsibility. I am saying that terrorists are coming from Pakistan, why are you not stopping them?...What is the Modi government doing? It is the government's responsibility to stop them, to arrest them...This is the failure of the Narendra Modi government that they are not able to stop the terrorists..." Owaisi said.