Omar claims Delhi waging war against Valley

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday accused New Delhi of waging a war against the people of the Valley.

His comment came a day after three protesters were killed and more than 400 injured in police and paramilitary CRPF firing across Kashmir. 

“Has New Delhi declared a war on the people of Kashmir? Hundreds of young boys and girls have potentially life-changing injuries, most of them caused by pellet guns. Thousands of youngsters have sustained injuries in this unrest,” he said in a statement.

Abdullah, who is the working president of the Opposition National Conference, said blaming Pakistan for the current unrest “or to delude ourselves into thinking this is a law and order situation is criminal”.

“There is an extreme sense of resentment and disenchantment among the youth of the Valley and that is the basis of this unrest,” he said.

“Every appeal being made asking New Delhi to engage with Pakistan and the people of Kashmir through a sustained and comprehensive dialogue to resolve the political issue is falling on deaf ears. There is no concern and empathy from the Centre.”

Abdullah also blamed the national media for “shifting the traumatic situation in Kashmir back to the proverbial back-burner in a perceived effort to distort the reality in the Valley and suit a particular narrative in New Delhi in the larger national interest”.

“The sense of bereavement, injustice and hopelessness in Kashmir is widespread and deep. New Delhi’s continued arrogance in refusing to acknowledge this to presumably save its government in J&K with the PDP goes against not only all the tenets of justice and humanity, but also against the interests of the country and its people, against the very fabric of the Constitution,” he added.

“Just a day after the Centre misinformed the Supreme Court about the situation in the Valley, three youths have lost their lives and more than 400 have been injured. If this is the Centre government’s definition of a situation improving or a one that is allegedly under control, God help the people of Kashmir,” the National Conference leader said.


Sharif vows to provide medical aid 

In yet another bid to highlight the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday vowed to provide medical help to those injured in the violence there and called on the international community to ask India to provide access for the treatment of the victims, reports PTI from Islamabad.

Two days after Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked countries to stop glorifying terrorists as martyrs at Saarc meeting in Islamabad, Sharif described the Kashmir situation as an “ongoing humanitarian crisis”.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called upon the international community to immediately help arrange treatment for the victims in Kashmir, especially for those suffering from eye injuries caused due to the pellet guns used by the Indian forces,” a Pakistan foreign office statement said.