Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday condemned the blast near New Delhi’s Red Fort, which killed atleast 12 people, while also reaffirming the ideals of peace and brotherhood which the people of Jammu and Kashmir espouse.
While condemning the alleged terror attack in Delhi, CM Abdullah said that it is only a “few people who have ruined peace and brotherhood in the region,” and that it is not fair to charecterise every Kashmiri as being associated with terrorism.
“It is highly condemnable. No religion can justify the killing of innocents with such brutality. Investigation will continue, but we must remember one thing – not every resident of Jammu and Kashmir is a terrorist or associated with terrorists. These are only a few people who have always ruined peace and brotherhood here. When we look at every resident of J&K and every Kashmiri Muslim with a single ideology and think that each one of them is a terrorist, it is difficult to keep the people on the right track,” CM Abdullah told reporters here.
He further called for the people responsible to be “severely punished,” while also making sure that innocent people are kept out of it.
Commenting on the blast accused being from a professional background, including being doctors, the Chief Minister questioned the ‘security failure’ which led to the blast.
“Have we not seen the professor of Universities before this?… Who says that educated people don’t get involved in such things? They do. I am shocked by the fact that, though they were expelled from the job, what kind of investigation was undertaken after that? Why was prosecution not carried out?… We can only help the central government to keep the situation normal, and we are doing that,” he said.