After a brief lull, fresh violence erupted today in Kashmir Valley leaving three persons dead and 70 injured following which indefinite curfew was clamped in Srinagar.
Eighteen months after he took over the reins of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Omar Abdullah, the youngest chief minister of the country, is fast losing control over the state.
He has virtually given a handle to separatists to mobilise masses in a repeat of the 2008 Amarnath land agitation.
In the past four weeks, 15 people have died allegedly in CRPF and police fire, bringing Kashmiris to the streets. Four people have died in the past 24 hours alone. The state government’s assertion that CRPF has gone “out of control” has added fuel to people’s anger and created more chaos.
In all this, Omar is losing credibility. The charm which catapulted him to the chief minister’s chair at the age of 39 in 2009 is also
not working.
The Centre is not helping, either. The Union home minister has advised him to visit troubled areas and start political contact, but he appears reluctant.
Omar’s lifestyle is causing further heartburn. When Kashmir was burning last month, he was holidaying with family in Ladakh.
“Thoughtless application of state force has resulted in this unending chain of tragedies. The government, it seems, has run out of options and wants to steamroll sentiments of people,” Mehbooba Mufti, president of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said.
“Even the current situation did not sensitise CM who preferred to holiday in Ladakh and Gulmarg. Such careless attitude suggests he is not serious about the affairs of a sensitive state such as J&K,” PDP general secretary Dilawar Mir said.
Omar is also facing problems within his party, National Conference (NC). A high-level meeting convened by NC provincial president Ali Muhammad Dar on Monday discussed the leadership crisis, among other things.
Leaders were of the opinion that Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah should continue as party president but give more time to the state. The statement was a clear rebuff to Omar who had said in an interview that the party president could be from outside the Sheikh family.
The volatile situation has strengthened separatist hardliners. Proof of this came when second-rung leaders such as Masrat Alam and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi became face of the ongoing protests after Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani was arrested.
Protests, the ‘Quit Jammu and Kashmir’ slogan and civil disobedience have become routine. The hardliners have become so strong that moderates are feeling the heat. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is under so much pressure that he had to stage a sit-in to stay relevant.
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