Granting autonomy is only solution to Jammu and Kashmir’s problems: Omar Abdullah

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Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that granting autonomy is the only practical solution to the decades-old problems in Jammu and Kashmir. The NC leader further said that Jammu and Kashmir is a unique state and needs special dispensation to satisfy the needs of the state.

Addressing a provincial meet of party functionaries at party headquarters, Abdullah observed that the situation in the Valley is turning grave day by day.  “Every day we hear news about killings, encounters, crackdowns, CASO’s across the state. South was already boiling but now even Srinagar is witnessing massive gunfights, crackdowns. It seems that the government has lost its writ over the situation in Kashmir,” he said.

He also maintained that autonomy affords a pragmatic way out. “It is high time for the government of India to implement the resolution of autonomy. It is the only pragmatic solution to the age-old problem. Jammu and Kashmir is a unique state and needs a special dispensation in terms of regional autonomy to satisfy the needs of the state,” he said. Abdullah stated that the people in Jammu and Kashmir are suffering due to non-governance, development deficit and lack of accountability. “The situation on the ground is a mess and the security scenario has deteriorated. The youth of Kashmir are at the receiving end of all this. Every day innocent civilians come in the line of fire. What happened in Kulgam where seven civilians were killed is a grim reminder of how bad the situation is. What is adding salt to the situation is the laid-back attitude of the central government,” he said.

He also noted that his party will continue to hold aloof the torch of amity and brotherhood in the state. “Our state is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicity, with a unique socio-political baggage. Our party has and will resist any attempt aimed to fiddle with states special status or dividing the state into communal lines.” Expressing grief over the killing of civilians during the past few days particularly in Kulgam, he said, “Such incidents do not augment well for the peace to thrive in Kashmir.” He also asserted that the NC would not allow anyone to fiddle with Article 35-A.