Pakistan is protecting Kashmir, says Farooq Abdullah

Ex-IIOJK CM accuses New Delhi of denying justice to J & K

Indian politician Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said Pakistan’s continued raising of the Kashmir issue at international forums had helped safeguard the interests of Kashmiris, while accusing New Delhi of failing to deliver justice to Jammu and Kashmir. “What hope will you (people of IIOJK) have from them (Delhi)? Will you expect that they will do justice for you?” Abdullah, a three-time chief minister of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), said while addressing a party event in Baramulla district, according to Indian news outlets. He urged people to remain courageous and stand up to the Centre, warning that a failure to do so could threaten their identity. “If you don’t keep it, you will be erased. Even our trace and identity will disappear. Nothing will be left,” he said. Abdullah argued that international attention to the Kashmir dispute had prevented New Delhi from acting against the region’s interests. He said the issue remained alive because Pakistan continued to raise it around the world. “They are silent today because there is noise in the world, and our neighbour is constantly behind this. Everywhere they say, ‘the decision regarding Kashmir has not been made’. That is what is saving us. Otherwise, their intentions are not good,” he said. Abdullah criticised what he described as the growing political polarisation between Hindus and Muslims, saying he had never imagined that the two communities would be pitted against each other for political power. “We never imagined that an era would come where Muslims and Hindus would be pitted against each other, purely for power—just for this chair,” he said. He further lamented what he described as the destruction of India’s social fabric. “India’s fabric was destroyed; we never imagined this would happen. But this too shall end, God willing; its time will come,” Abdullah added.