SRINAGAR: Separatist leaders in Kashmir have denounced Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s comments that India should respond with force if Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire on the Line of Control.
They say Mr Abdullah’s comments were “proof of his immaturity”.
Chairman of the hardline faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani called the ruling National Conference party “enemy of Pakistan.”
“Whenever the NC feels it is on a weak front, it resorts to Pakistan-bashing to please their masters in New Delhi and thus safeguards their chair.”
“Omar is trying to be ‘more loyal than the king’…supporting a war against Pakistan proves his childish mentality and immature thinking…,” Mr Geelani said in a statement.
Another senior separatist and chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq warned that confrontation between India and Pakistan will be disastrous for the entire south Asian region.
He said the chief minister’s statement lacks political maturity.
Mr Abdullah on Monday said New Delhi ought to look at “other options” if Pakistan continued to violate the ceasefire along the LoC, a charge which Islamabad denies.
“Obviously this cannot be a one sided affair. It cannot be a situation where we are the receiving end and no response is given,” he told reporters.
