- Omar Abdullah stated that not all Kashmiri Muslims are terrorists
- He condemned the Delhi blast near Red Fort that killed 13 people
- Three doctors, including two from Kashmir, are in custody over the blast plot
Not every Kashmiri Muslim is a terrorist, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asserted, anticipating discrimination against people from the Union territory he governs amid a probe into the blast that ripped through the heart of Delhi earlier this week. At least 13 died and nearly two dozen were injured in the blast near the Red Fort Metro Station on November 10.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu this morning, Abdullah condemned the blast and said that no religion can justify the killing of innocents with such brutality.
"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," he said.
His remarks follow the arrest of some Kashmiri doctors in connection with the i20 car blast in Delhi. While Dr Umar Mohammad, driver of the i20, and Dr Muzammil are from Pulwama, Dr Adeel Rather is from Anantnag. Their links to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group has emerged in the blast probe.
Those behind the blast should be "punished severely" and the innocent should be kept out, the Chief Minister demanded. Asked about the professional background of the terror suspects, including some being doctors, he replied, "Have we not seen the professor of Universities before this? Who says that educated people don't get involved in such things? They do."
He also questioned the "security failure" that led to the blast, wondering if any probe was conducted after a doctor linked to the blast was expelled from his previous job. "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," the Chief Minister said.
Dr Muzammil, Dr Adeel, and another doctor, Shaheen Saeed, a Lucknow resident, are now in police custody. They worked together at the Al Falah University in Faridabad, where the blast conspiracy was hatched.
