Centre needs to address the root cause of terrorism in J&K: Farooq
JAMMU: President of the National Conference Farooq Abdullah stated on Sunday that the fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be won by the use of force, and he urged the Centre to look for solutions to deal with the underlying causes of the threat. According to the former chief minister, since terrorism is taking the lives of innocent people, the general public should also realise how pointless the ongoing violence is. Speaking with reporters outside of this book launch, Abdullah attacked the BJP for claiming that things are back to normal in Jammu and Kashmir"Promoting tourism or shouting for normalcy won't put an end to terrorism, which still exists. They were saying that the repeal of Article 370 (in 2019) put an end to terrorism, but after four years, it is still present and won't end until its underlying causes are identified, according to Abdullah. He was responding to the murder of retired police officer Mohd Shafi, who was shot dead by terrorists inside a mosque in his Gantmulla village in the Baramulla district of north Kashmir while delivering the "azan," or call to prayer. "I'm sorry the officer was killed. Those who are advocating for normalcy remain silent; instead of tackling the underlying issue, they attempted bandaging the wounds superficially. The common people need to realise that we are losing both officers and soldiers," Abdullah declared. The president of the National Conference stated that he is unable to comprehend how killing innocent people will benefit those who commit acts of violence. "To put an end to the carnage in Jammu and Kashmir, the central government needed to find the right approach. We have to find ways to stop terrorism instead of claiming normalcy or bringing up tourism, which is vulnerable in the face of terrorism, since we are, and always have been, a part of India," the speaker stated. According to him, using military or police force won't put an end to terrorism. "We have to go deeper and address the root cause to finish it off." Questioned about the increasing terror activity in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, Abdullah said that this goes against the government's assertions that everything is 'honky-dory'. "Who are the people calling for normalcy? Propaganda won't accomplish anything because people are dying in this place. They need to come up with a solution, and Farooq Abdullah doesn't have a book that offers one," he remarked. When asked if he thought India and Pakistan should discuss the issue, Abdullah replied that the central government should make the final decision In a different interview with the media, Abdullah voiced his worries about the possible deaths of three civilians while in detention after five soldiers were killed in a mash in the Poonch area of Surankote. He added that winning the fight against terrorism depends on the support of the populace. Terrorists who had earlier attacked and murdered our brave soldiers also tortured and killed three locals. This is bad news because the fight is against terrorism, not internal problems. If we aggravate our people, we will never win this war," he said. [caption id="attachment_7708" align="alignnone" width="300"] Centre needs to address the root cause of…
