Delhi blast aftermath: ‘Kashmiri parents fear sending children outside J&K for education, jobs: CM Omar

Kulgam, Nov 19: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said parents in Kashmir fear sending their children outside for jobs or education, “as people from the valley are being viewed with suspicion in the aftermath of the Delhi blasts.”

“The situation is such that no parent would like to send their children outside for jobs or education,” Omar told a gathering of youth during a trade fair in Kulgam. “It doesn’t feel good to say this, but what can one do? A fact is a fact. Because of the involvement of a few, an impression is being created that we are all responsible for what happened in Delhi.”

He said Kashmiris are being “unfairly targeted” and that even driving a vehicle with a Jammu and Kashmir registration number “feels like a crime.”

“At times, I feel like not taking security personnel with me in Delhi. Now, while driving, I have to think twice, wondering if I might be stopped and questioned,” he said.

Omar's remarks followed reports identifying Dr Umar Nabi, a 28-year-old assistant professor at Haryana’s Al-Falah University and a resident of Pulwama, as the suicide attacker in Delhi.

Hours before the blast, police arrested eight people and seized 2,900 kilograms of explosives from what they described as a “white-collar terror module,” spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, allegedly linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

Omar said, “revoking J&K’s special status had not ended bloodshed in J&K and maintained that 'those responsible for security must be held accountable.”

“We were told that violence would stop after 2019, but innocent lives are still being lost. If not in Delhi, blasts happen here,” Omar said, addressing a function in Kulgam district in south Kashmir.

Elaborating, Omar said people in J&K have witnessed uninterrupted violence for more than three decades. “Responsibility for the prevailing situation lies squarely with those handling security. Why is this still happening? You should ask those responsible. We don’t have that authority,” Omar said. Referring to his recent visits to families of victims of the Nowgam blast, Abdullah said, “I met five families yesterday and will visit two more today. Jammu and Kashmir has seen too much bloodshed over the last 30–35 years. It has to stop.”