Farooq Abdullah apologises over Amarnath attack, says killers not 'Muslims'
The former chief minister was speaking at a function to commemorate the 17th death anniversary of his mother Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah at her mausoleum in Hazratbal here.
Opposition National Conference president Farooq Abdullah apologised to the people of the country for the attack on Amarnath yatris, saying those "who fired upon innocents were not Muslims".
"On my behalf and on the behalf of the people here, I want to apologies to you for this attack and want to tell you that we are not the ones who kill people. We have always shown love and are still showing it today," he said.
He referred to the role of Muslims in the Amarnath Yatra. "Even today, when a yatri comes here, it is the Kashmiri Muslim who carries his baggage. The ponywala also is a Kashmiri Muslim," Abdullah said.
The former chief minister was speaking at a function to commemorate the 17th death anniversary of his mother Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah at her mausoleum in Hazratbal here.
The whole of Kashmir had been saddened by the attack, he said, adding the attackers wanted to create communal tension in the country. "There is religious freedom in this country...communalism in India is at its peak again and it can devour us all. This attack is an example of communalism," he said. He said when the people in Jammu called for a bandh, the Kashmiris should have joined them because "this attack is on religion".
Terrorists
on
Monday
killed
seven
Amarnath
pilgrims,
including
six
women,
and
injured
19
others
as
they
fired
at
a
bus
in
Kashmir's
Anantnag
district.
Terming
the
attack
as
one
of
the
biggest
tragedies,
Abdullah
said
people
of
Kashmir
were
not
communal.
The
member
of
Parliament
from
Srinagar
said
he
was
worried
about
the
"repercussions"
the
attack
may
have
outside
the
Valley.
"I
hope
that
nothing
happens...the
attack
was
not
done
by
the
Kashmiris...not
by
the
Muslims
of
Kashmir.
Those
terrorists
cannot
be
Muslims,"
he
stressed.
h
He
appealed
to
every
man
and
woman
in
India
to
remain
calm
and
pray
for
the
souls
of
those
who
are
dead
and
"pray
for
those
who
are
in
hospital
to
get
well".
"Come
in
large
numbers,
the
way
we
visit
many
shrines
in
the
country,
so
that
these
forces
are
defeated.
Our
religion
teaches
us
brotherhood
and
we
will
continue
that,"
he
said.
Abdullah
asked
the
people
of
the
country
to
love
Muslims
and
Kashmiris.
He said that to bring Kashmir back to normal, people should start loving the people of the Valley. "The more love you will give them, the more response will there be from here and these forces will be defeated," he said.
He, however, refused to comment on whether the attack was the failure of the state government. "I don't think today is the time when I have to comment on that," he said, adding that he had "lost his sleep since he came to know about the attack."
"Innocents have been killed. If you (militants) want to fight, then fight against India if you have that power. Why are you firing at innocent?" he asked. "I also want to tell security forces here to stop oppressing us. The more you do it, the more this terror will increase and then you will not be able to fight it. We are hungry for love and not your money. Keep your money but love us," he said.
PTI