Pulwama type attacks will continue till Kashmir issue is resolved politically: Farooq Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has said that people of Kashmir are not responsible for the Pulwama attack but such type of incidents will continue till the "Kashmir issue is resolved politically". He also expressed concern over the alleged attacks on Kashmiri students and businessmen outside the Valley.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah. (Photo: PTI/File)

JAMMU: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has said that people of Kashmir are not responsible for the Pulwama attack but such type of incidents will continue till the "Kashmir issue is resolved politically". He also expressed concern over the alleged attacks on Kashmiri students and businessmen outside the Valley. Abdullah said the common people have no role in the attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a suicide bomber struck their convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Thursday. Referring to the all-party meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi in the aftermath of the deadly attack, the National Conference president said, "I said in the meeting that it is not our fault but your mistake as you did not address our aspirations." He was speaking to a group of Kashmiri people who are stranded in Jammu and staying at a mosque in Bathindi area near his residence following imposition of curfew in the city on Friday. "You are targeting our children and compounding our problems. We are caught in a grave situation and are not responsible for what had happened as we have no connection with these outfits," he said. "Such attacks will continue and will not come down till the Kashmir issue is resolved politically. Please don't beat us. We have no role in it (attack) and we are not with it (terrorism). We want to live with dignity, study and earn our two meals and do not wish to build castles," PTI quoted Abdullah as saying. He also asked the people to maintain patience and do not indulge in sloganeering. "You people have done nothing wrong but the allegations will still come to you. We have to keep patience and seek help from almighty to bring us out of this situation. The day will come when we will come out of this grave situation," he said. Without naming anyone, he said some forces are bent upon to create a rift among the people but "we will maintain peace and will not allow them to succeed in their designs". (With PTI inputs)