Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that a terror-free Jammu and Kashmir will remain elusive unless Pakistan rethinks its strategy, warning that India now views any terror strike as an “act of war.”
“No matter what we do, if Pakistan’s intent is inimical, then we will never fully achieve a terror-free J&K. And I think Pahalgam has proven that,” Omar said, referring to the recent terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
He rejected the notion that the abrogation of Article 370 had helped end terrorism in the region. “The BJP tried very hard to sell this narrative that terror in J&K was the result of Article 370. We know that’s not true. Terror in J&K is the result of Pakistan’s intentions. And therefore, that’s why the removal of Article 370 did not stop terror in J&K,” he said.
Omar urged Pakistan to reassess its position, stressing that the central government had “set a very low bar” for what it considers an act of aggression.
“The biggest challenge will be to convince Pakistan that its support for these sorts of activities is bad for us, but also bad for Pakistan,” he said. “And given now the sort of very low bar that the Centre has set, that any attack will be seen as an act of war, Pakistan needs to seriously think about whether it wants to plunge the neighbourhood into a war.”
On the Pahalgam attack, Omar welcomed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s admission of a “security and intelligence failure” but said that was only the first step. “Twenty-six people died. Twenty-six innocent people were brutally murdered. Where were the lapses? This Pahalgam incident brought two nations, two nuclear powers, to war,” he said. “It is appreciable that the LG has said that he is responsible. But down the chain of command, accountability has to be fixed. The next step would be to fix responsibility, and then heads must roll.”
