Omar takes on Malik over pelting remark

SRINAGAR: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, on Monday rebutted a comment made by the state’s Governor, Satya Pal Malik, that mainstream political parties in the Valley do not openly oppose stone-pelting but condemn it while speaking privately with him.

“Kashmir’s political parties should also tell the boys to avoid encounter sites and stone-pelting. Omar [Abdullah] and Madam [Mehbooba Mufti] have agreed with me on this privately but are not willing to say it openly. After the Kulgam deaths, they condemned us. They say something else in Delhi and something else in Srinagar,” Malik told HT in an interview that was published on Monday. National Conference (NC) vice president, Omar Abdullah, responded that he has no confusion in his mind about stone-pelting in Kashmir and asked the Governor to explain his statement. “Let me say this publicly so that Governor Sahib is under no confusion — civilians should not throw stones & should not rush to encounter sites. I’m not saying this publicly for the first time & it won’t be the last time I’m saying this. How does Gov Malik know what I think about anything? Is he quoting a conversation I’ve had with him privately? Are my calls being monitored? Is my office/residence bugged? He owes me, if not @Mehboobamufti Sahiba an explanation,’’ Abdullah tweeted.

“At the same time we can’t treat stone throwers as terrorists & randomly keep shooting them but that’s a conversation for another day. Right now I’m curious to know how Gov Sb knows what I think privately,’’ he added on the social media platform. In the HT interview, Malik was responding to a question about civilian deaths in the Valley, when he said: “Even the killing of even one civilian is wrong. It is very difficult to sanitise rural locations.” He then went on to add that the mainstream political leaders should do more.