Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah said on Tuesday that he and his party had taken bullets for the country and would never back down if the situation demanded it again.
He strongly criticised the BJP for what he called baseless claims that the ruling NC was attempting to revive stone-throwing and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
The former chief minister rejected demands to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir, labelling them “foolish and ignorant”.
He said his party remained committed to reuniting Ladakh—which was separated and made a Union Territory in 2019—with the former state. He stated there would be no creation of further districts within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
He also criticised opposition parties in the UT for demanding separate divisions for the Pir Panjal and Chenab valleys, describing such calls as part of the ‘Dixon Plan’.
He called these demands deliberate attempts to dismember the state, referring to a proposal drafted in September 1950 by Sir Owen Dixon, the UN representative and former Chief Justice of Australia, to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan.
Addressing a media gathering in Jammu on the sidelines of his two-day party convention of block presidents and secretaries, Abdullah laughed off comments by a senior BJP leader who claimed that the Kashmir-based parties NC and PDP thrived on unrest and aimed to revive stone-pelting and terrorism in the region.
Farooq said the leader who made these comments should remember, “Those who want to create disturbance are them, not us.” He added, “We have taken bullets for staying with India, and we will not hesitate to do so again if needed.”
He also criticised Kashmir-based parties and their leadership, saying, “We never wanted to separate Ladakh. What benefit did Ladakh receive? Today, even the people of Ladakh say they want to be reunited with the state; they do not want Union Territory status.”
“What kind of talk is this? These people are foolish and ignorant. This is the state of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, and, Inshallah (God willing), one day Ladakh will return,” he asserted.
Regarding PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti’s call for divisional status for the Pir Panjal and Chenab valleys and the creation of more districts, Abdullah reiterated that this echoed the Dixon Plan.
“The Dixon Plan is very old, proposing to divide the state along the Chenab River to form greater Kashmir. But Parmar Sahib (first chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Y S Parmar) opposed any division. Many people want to break the state, but they will never succeed,” he added.
He also addressed the issue of creating additional districts in the UT, saying it was unnecessary as the existing arrangement was sufficient for focused administration.
When asked about Mehbooba Mufti’s recent remarks on rising unemployment, he questioned her track record as chief minister as well as that of her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
On the question of whether talks should be held with Pakistan, Farooq accused the media of having “Pakistan phobia” and referenced former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s remark that neighbours cannot be changed.
He also criticised the media’s tone and stance when reporting on issues about Pakistan, saying the characterisation of Pakistan as “reckless” was pointless since it was not limited to one country—indirectly referencing the United States, Israel and Russia amid rapidly evolving global developments.
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