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| A welcome change of heart | | | Hari Om | 10/12/2014 9:48:37 PM |
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What Omar Abdullah said about the great role of the Government of India and its agencies and about irresponsible and out-on-the- limb politicians, was appreciable, as he meticulously called their bluff and put things in perspective.
It may appear unbelievable, but it is a fact that Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been behaving in a most responsible manner after September 6, when incessant rains and flood devastated almost the entire Jammu province and parts of Kashmir valley. Mr Abdullah never missed any opportunity after he assumed the highest executive office in the State on January 5, 2009, to denigrate and abuse New Delhi and Indian institutions and promote overtly and covertly the Pakistani cause in Kashmir. His political behaviour since September 6 has been one of great satisfaction, notwithstanding the fact that his coalition Government remained dysfunctional at a time when its active intervention was needed the most.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the only leader in Kashmir who has been speaking truth and exposing falsehood and half-truths. Indeed, he has surprised many of his friends and foes by airing views which hardly had any taker in the valley.
After September 6, Abdullah has made numerous statements in public which clearly indicated a change in his attitude towards New Delhi and its various agencies, including the Army; the so-called mainstream leaders like Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad; extremists and separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani; and even Pakistan. A reference here to three of his most important statements - which he made would be in order, as they suggest that he was pursuing something no Kashmiri leader had ever followed.
That his attitude towards New Delhi had undergone a positive change became clear when he rejected vested interests and anti-Modi forces and without mincing words commended the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India, the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the National Disaster Response Force. The Modi-led BJP Government and various agencies came to the rescue of the trapped people and did all that they could do in the time of crisis was the upshot of his whole argument. However, what stung vested interests like Azad, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and some so-called leading members of civil society in Kashmir all the more was his emphatic assertion, coupled with definite statistics, that the Indian Army and other agencies involved in rescue and relief operations did not make any distinction between the VIPs and common Kashmiri Muslims. He used all good words for the Indian agencies.
Noteworthy here is that Azad, who initially hailed the efforts of the Modi Government in the flood-ravaged Kashmir Valley, had taken a U-turn and trained guns at the Centre. In fact, he, like many extremists and anti-India agents, including chief of dreaded Jamaat-ud-Dawa'ah, Hafiz Saeed, accused the Army and the NDRF of discriminating between VIPs and common Kashmiri Muslims. Mr Abdullah did not name him, but his target was Azad in the sense that his statement in defence of the Army and the NDRF came a day after the latter made a nasty statement on the role of the Army. The Chief Minister dubbed the likes of Azad as most irresponsible and charged them with fishing in troubled waters. This was a scathing attack by any yardstick.
What Abdullah candidly said about the great role of the Government of India and its agencies and about out-on-the-limb politicians like Azad and others like the desperate and frustrated Geelani and the Mirwaiz was appreciable as he meticulously called their bluff and put things in perspective. But what he said about what Pakistan did on the holy festival of Eid in Jammu's Arnia sector on October 6 was unbelievable.
What did he say after visiting Arnia and listening to the woeful tales of the victims of the Pakistani unprovoked shelling in the civilian areas at the Jammu Medical College and Hospital? It would be unfair if he is not quoted verbatim. The visibly angry, shaken and moved Chief Minister, inter-alia, said, "Pakistan has been violating ceasefire along the LoC and International Border, but this time it has crossed all limits by targetting civilian areas. It was a deliberate attempt from the Pakistani side to target civilian areas, and the death and injury to innocent people is a part of their nefarious design. Such a large-scale loss to the civilians clearly indicates that the Pakistanis have changed their strategy from engaging in cross-firing with the forces on this side of the border to specifically targeting the civilian area. This stand should be condemned by one and all in strongest possible words. At a time when people of Jammu & Kashmir should be getting Eid greetings, they (Pakistani troops) have gifted our people with bombs and this is all the more shocking.
Either we are unable to understand Pakistan's motive behind the increase in ceasefire violations or the internal situation in Pakistan is so bad that by targetting Indian side they want to divert attention of their own people. The Pakistani leadership has nothing else to speak about Kashmir. Whenever they go abroad, they try to raise Kashmir issue but every time they miserably fail to get international attention. Since Pakistani leadership failed to get any response from the US recently, it has started targeting civilians out of the frustration."
What Abdullah said was not off-the-cuff. It was a well-thought and comprehensive response to the Pakistani evil machinations. There was no ambiguity whatsoever in his formulation. What was even significant was his choice of words, epithets and invectives and the manner in which he tore into Pakistan. That all this came from a person who just seven years ago had tendered an unconditional apology to Pakistan in Pakistan itself for what he called the wrongs committed by his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah, does suggest that there is a change in his attitude towards Islamabad.
Courtesy: Daily Pioneer |
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