Speaking to reporters in Anantnag on Wednesday, Abdullah questioned why Kashmiri Pandit employees appeared to be singled out while senior Hindu police and civil officers posted from outside the Union Territory were not facing comparable threats. He said the circumstances required an explanation from the administration.
“Who is issuing the threats?” Abdullah asked, referring to officers serving in Jammu and Kashmir. He cited senior police ranks and district-level officials, saying many of them were Hindus posted from outside the region and questioning why they had not been similarly targeted.
Abdullah described the episode as a “conspiracy” intended to keep Jammu and Kashmir from regaining statehood and said an atmosphere of fear was being created. He also challenged official assertions that normalcy had returned and militancy had been brought under control, asking how such threats could continue if the security situation had improved as claimed.
The National Conference chief placed responsibility for answering those questions on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, under whose administration policing and public order remain controlled in the Union Territory. Abdullah went further by accusing the administration of responsibility for the threats, an allegation for which he offered no publicly disclosed evidence.
The remarks came after a purported threat poster circulated on social media naming Kashmiri Pandit employees working under the Prime Minister’s employment package. The All PM Package Employees Forum Kashmir subsequently approached the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary seeking stronger security measures.
The employees’ forum said the purported communication, attributed to an outfit calling itself the United Liberation Council and dated August 23, contained personal information about some employees, including names, addresses and vehicle details. The authenticity and origin of the material have not been independently established, making the source of the alleged threats a central issue in the controversy.
Abdullah’s comments drew criticism from Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravinder Raina, who rejected the attempt to connect the threats with the statehood question. Raina described the remarks as objectionable and argued that the safety of Kashmiri Pandits should not become a matter of political bargaining.
The dispute has emerged amid continuing political pressure over the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. The National Conference has repeatedly pressed the central government to fulfil assurances made after the reorganisation of the former state into two Union Territories in 2019.
Abdullah said the Centre had earlier indicated that delimitation would be followed by elections and then restoration of statehood, but he maintained that the final step remained unfulfilled. He also referred to a meeting between National Conference MPs and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the framing of Business Rules, saying an assurance of early approval had yet to translate into a resolution.
The statehood question has remained one of the principal political issues confronting the elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. While an elected Assembly and Council of Ministers are in place, key powers relating to police, public order and parts of the administrative machinery continue to rest with the Lieutenant Governor under the Union Territory framework.
Farooq Abdullah also linked Wednesday’s controversy to the National Conference’s broader confrontation with the Centre, saying the party would continue to press the commitments contained in its political programme. He said there was no need for a fresh appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi because the Prime Minister was already aware of the demand for restoration of statehood.
The National Conference president’s allegation has, however, added a sharper security dimension to that political argument because it directly questions the origin of threats against a vulnerable minority community. No official evidence has been made public establishing that the Jammu and Kashmir administration generated, facilitated or directed the alleged threat material.
