"Tragedy Is Hate In Country": Farooq Abdullah Survives Attempt On Life

The National Conference on Thursday said the assassination bid on Farooq Abdullah was an attempt to eliminate Kashmiri leadership, as Abdullah himself linked the attack to "deep-rooted hate" in the country.

The party passed a resolution condemning the attack and held protests demanding an impartial probe into the assassination attempt on the 88-year-old leader.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister had a close shave after a man, identified as Kamal Singh Jamwal, managed to enter his close security grid at a marriage party in Jammu and put a pistol to his neck.

The attacker missed his target as a security guard quickly pushed him and deflected the fire, according to dramatic video footage. Many believe it was a miraculous escape, as two rounds intended for Farooq Abdullah were fired into the air.

"The biggest tragedy is the hate in the country. It has become so deep-rooted," said Abdullah.

The veteran leader said the space for moderate voices is shrinking in the country. "It's shrinking for those who talk about love and friendship between different communities. No religion teaches hate, but I think we have abandoned religion," said Abdullah.

He stated that there were poor security arrangements by the police and demanded an inquiry.

"They should hold an inquiry and find out why it happened. We live in an era where hate is deep-rooted. Police should have taken precautionary measures," he said.

In Srinagar and Jammu, NC legislators and leaders held protests against the attack and demanded an impartial probe.

After an emergency meeting at the party headquarters in Srinagar, party spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said that a resolution was passed condemning the attack, which they termed a terrorist act.

"It was an attempt to eliminate the towering leader of Kashmir and silence the voice of Kashmir," said Dar.

Calling the attack a major security lapse, the NC spokesman demanded an impartial probe and questioned the silence of the  Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, who is in charge of law and order in Jammu and Kashmir.

Party leaders said the links and ideology of the attacker should be investigated and made public to reveal who is truly behind the attack. The spokesman also questioned the handling of the case after the accused, Kamal Singh Jamwal, was taken into custody. A video of Jamwal discussing his intention to kill Farooq Abdullah has been widely shared on social media.

Completely unapologetic and remorseless, the attacker stated that he had been waiting for the moment to kill the former J&K chief minister for the last 20 years. In the widely circulated video, Kamal Singh Jamwal appears to regret that Farooq Abdullah survived when he finally got the chance to kill him.

Jamwal, 63, told police that he is a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu and that he had been waiting for this moment to kill Farooq Abdullah for two decades.

When a police officer asked him why he wanted to kill Abdullah, the accused said he "just wanted to kill him."

"Today I got the chance to kill him, but he didn't get killed; he survived," he said.

As the officer again asked why he wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah, Jamwal replied that "it was his mission". Jamwal stated he used his own personal weapon - a licensed pistol - in the attack.