Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently offered a stark assessment of his first year in office, calling it “difficult” due to major terror attacks. Speaking at a leadership summit, he directly challenged the narrative surrounding terrorism, asserting that homegrown extremism “never went away.” He strongly cautioned against believing that the post-2019 constitutional changes were a “miraculous cure” for terror, citing recent incidents like the Baisaran attack and the Delhi blast as grim reminders.
Abdullah expressed surprise that it took so long for people outside J&K to grasp the true severity of the situation. He hopes these recent events serve as a critical wake-up call, noting that the country has drawn a “line in the sand” – implying future attacks could be deemed acts of war. He highlighted that the Delhi blast’s domestic origin was a “saving grace,” narrowly averting an immediate, heightened government response.
A central point of his criticism was the Union Territory (UT) model of governance. Abdullah argued that operating in “silos,” where elected governments are completely removed from security decisions, is ineffective. He revealed his frustration at learning about the Delhi blast through newspapers, a stark contrast to his previous tenure as Chief Minister when he would have been instantly informed by security officials. He lamented his reliance on “chatter on the streets” for crucial intelligence.
Finally, Abdullah voiced deep concern over the “othering” of Kashmiri Muslims across India, citing discriminatory orders for police registration. He warned that such treatment undermines a unified stance against violence and alienates Kashmiri youth, making it harder for them to pursue opportunities nationwide when they are treated as untrustworthy. He firmly stated that the vast majority of Kashmiris oppose terrorism and should not be painted with one brush. The UT model, he concluded, simply “does not work.”
Source: https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/12/06/del28-omar-ut-model.html
