Omar highlights challenges faced by Kashmiri youth amid rising suspicion

Over a week after the car bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that claimed 15 lives and left several others injured, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that although only a few individuals were responsible for the attack, an attempt was being made to create an impression that “all of us are responsible.”

Speaking at an official event in south Kashmir, Omar questioned whether the situation in Jammu and Kashmir had truly changed following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

He noted that while youngsters from other states travel across the country in search of employment, youth from Kashmir “perhaps do not get these kinds of opportunities.” In the aftermath of the Delhi blast, he said, parents may become even more reluctant to send their children outside the region.

“When we are looked at with suspicion from all sides… when attempts are made to defame us for someone else’s actions… when an attempt is made to involve everyone because a few people are involved, it becomes very difficult for us to move forward,” he said. “I don’t like saying this, but reality is reality.”

Regarding the blast, the Chief Minister reiterated that only a “few people” were responsible. “But an attempt was made to create an impression that all of us are responsible,” he said. “Today, driving a Jammu and Kashmir registration vehicle is also considered a crime.”

He added that even he worries about taking his official vehicle out when he is in Delhi. “I don’t know who will stop me and ask where I am from and why I am here. When we can’t leave our own region to seek employment, the government becomes even more responsible for creating opportunities here,” Omar said.

Speaking to reporters later about the prevailing situation in the Valley, he remarked, “What can I say? If it is not exploding in Delhi, then it is exploding here in Kashmir. Innocent people are losing their lives.”

Referring to the victims of the Nowgam police station blast, he said, “Yesterday I went to five places for condolences. Today I am going to two more.”

The Chief Minister said people desperately want an end to the violence. “In the last 30–35 years, Jammu and particularly Kashmir have seen immense bloodshed. We want this cycle to end,” he said.

“We were promised that after August 2019 this would stop, but it didn’t. Why didn’t it stop? You will have to ask those responsible for our security. We don’t have that responsibility,” he added.