Farooq Abdullah bats for talks with Pak amid terror attacks; gets sharp reply from J&K BJP chief

New Delhi: National Conference (NC) President and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday advocated for talks with Pakistan amidst a series of terror attacks in the Jammu region in the past three days.

"These terrorists are coming from across the border. The problem can't be solved by military action, the only solution is to engage in talks with the neighbouring nation. Unless that happens, terrorism will keep rearing its ugly head,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.

BJP's J&K unit president Ravinder Raina took strong exception to Abdullah's advocacy for talks and said that it is highly regrettable that the NC leader is seeking dialogue with a nation that has bled India multiple times.

"Instead of denouncing Pakistan, showing it the mirror, (and) shaming the country for its cowardly acts of terror, the NC leader is advocating for talks with the terror-sponsoring nation," Raina said.

"Farooq Abdullah should stop pitching for talks with Pakistan as the latter always worked to infiltrate terrorists in the Indian territory for killing innocent citizens," he added.

He further asserted that Pakistan will be taught a lesson in the same language that it understands.

Abdullah also told reporters that unless the government realizes that talks are the only solution to bloodshed and "unless dialogue begins, such tragedies will continue to happen".

The BJP leader berated the NC chief for "evoking sympathy" towards Pakistan while "belittling" the security forces' ability to neutralize acts of terror emanating from Pakistan.

He said that Abdullah should first explain to people whether Pakistan was behind the bloodshed in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Farooq Abdullah, you are a former Chief Minister, have been a Union Minister and you know that Pakistan is propagating terror in the valley by infiltrating terrorists. Rather than speaking for them, you should work to boost the morale of Indian Army, police and paramilitary forces and salute their service to the nation," Raina said.

Asserting the government's tough stand on terror, he said, "What type of talks can be held with an enemy nation which has been inflicting terror in J&K. We will respond to Pakistan in the same language it understands."

Notably, three terror attacks in the past three days across various regions of Jammu including Reasi, Kathua and Doda have claimed more than 10 lives including a CRPF jawan while two terrorists were killed by security forces in encounters.

The first attack was on a bus in Reasi where Hindu pilgrims on their way to Vaishno Devi shrine were fired upon, resulting in the death of 10 people and leaving about 35 others injured as the bus veered off the road and fell into a gorge. The second was in Kathua when terrorists fired at villagers while looking for a hide-out and the third was in Doda, where the terrorists fired shots at a joint check-post of Army and state police, injuring five security personnel and injuring an SPO on duty.