NEW DELHI, Feb 25: Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, called it “a matter of considerable shame” that the Supreme Court, not the Election Commission of India, was required to issue an order on elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The head of the National Conference also stated that it was incorrect to believe that Article 370 was the primary cause of all of J&K’s issues and that terrorist assaults were now occurring in places that had previously been free of terrorism, notably the hills of Jammu, Rajouri, and Poonch. Speaking on Saturday at the Ideas of India Summit 3.0 hosted Abdullah questioned, “What is the BJP and what is the Government of India going to do about the deadline the Supreme Court has set?” pointing out that the court had declared that Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections were to take place by the end of September 2024. Abdullah stated, “It is a great disgrace that the Supreme Court had to declare the results of the elections in Jammu and Kashmir instead of the Election Commission or the Government of India.”The Supreme Court affirmed the Center’s decision in December of last year to repeal Article 370, which had granted the former state of Jammu and Kashmir a special status, but it also ordered that statehood be restored “as soon as possible.” It stated that assembly elections ought to take place before September 30, 2024. Abdullah added that terror assaults targeting Pandits in Kashmir are commonplace in the Valley. He claimed that even after Article 370 was repealed, there are still pockets of separatist support and that there is rarely more than a week or two between terrorist attacks. He said that under the current (Union) government, more Kashmiri Pandits had been slain in targeted attacks than under prior administrations.The former chief minister further asserted that the Pandits from Kashmir, who were resettled by his government with government jobs in the Valley, are now begging to be let to return to Jammu. “Kashmiri Pandits no longer feel secure in their surroundings thanks to this regime. More Pandits from Kashmir wish to flee the region now than they did five or ten years ago, Abdullah continued., he asserted that during the current government’s mandate, more Kashmiri Pandits had lost their lives in targeted attacks in the Valley than in previous times.
