This won’t stop terrorism, only increase resentment: Omar on Delhi blast accused’s house demolition

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday questioned the demolition of the house of Dr Umar Nabi, who drove the explosive-laden car involved in the Delhi blast, saying such actions would do little to curb terrorism and instead risked deepening public resentment.

Abdullah made the statement on the sidelines of the inauguration of the newly constructed estate flats at Muthi on the outskirts of Jammu city.

“If terrorism could be stopped because of these things (demolishing houses), it would have stopped by now. Even after Pahalgam, you blew up so many houses — did this (terror attacks) stop? I fear that because of such things, anger and resentment increases. But these decisions are not in our hands,” Abdullah told reporters here.

The Chief Minister said that those authorising such measures should introspect. “Those who make these decisions should reflect on their decisions and see whether, through such actions, they have been able to stop terrorism or not.”

Abdullah claimed that during his six-year tenure as chief minister, militancy-related incidents steadily declined without the administration resorting to demolishing civilian properties. “Security was my responsibility. Every year, militant incidents declined, but we were never compelled to blow up houses,” he added.

During the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, security forces demolished the house of Dr Umar Nabi in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Umar was behind the wheels of the Hyundai i20 laden with explosives. His identity was confirmed after DNA samples collected from the blast site matched those of his mother.

A high-intensity explosion that ripped through the slow-moving car driven by Umar at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro station in Delhi killed at least 13 persons.

On April 24, security forces demolished the home of Adil Ahmad Thoker in Bijbehara, one of the suspects in the Pahalgam attack case at the time.