Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday said Pakistan is “not the architect” of the present crisis in the Valley, and that the situation can improve only when the Centre recognises the “anger” on ground and tries to address it. Pakistan, according to Omar, could be “fishing in troubled water” in the state but the current situation in the Valley was not created by the neighbouring country. “They are not architects of the problem and they are not keeping it alive,” Omar said. “It is our inability to address this anger that is keeping it alive.” Stating that Opposition parties in the state have decided to approach President Pranab Mukherjee to apprise him of the ground situation, Omar also said the Centre feels it has ownership only over the land of Jammu and Kashmir, not over its people. “When you say Kashmir is an integral part of India, you are talking only about the land. You need to own the people (living in that land),” Omar said at a press conference after a meeting of Opposition parties at Farooq Abdullah’s residence in Srinagar. The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Conference, Congress, CPM and other smaller parties and independent legislators. Flanked by several leaders from other Opposition parties, Omar said the situation in Kashmir will improve only when the Centre recognises the problem and tries to address it. “Today, both the state and the Central governments are turning a blind eye to the situation. If you don’t recognise the anger, if you don’t address the root cause of this anger, how will the anger die? That’s why we are telling the Centre, ‘Please recognise (that) there is a problem’,” he said. Drawing a parallel between the Dalit agitation in Gujarat and protests in Kashmir since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8, the Leader of Opposition in J&K Assembly said the difference between the two is that although the agitation in Gujarat was “far lesser” in magnitude, it is “mind-boggling” that PM Narendra Modi addressed the issue, but he refrained from doing the same on the Kashmir crisis. This is because Modi feels ownership over the people and Gujarat, Omar said. “Why is it that we don’t get owned, our anger doesn’t get owned, our sentiment is not owned? If you don’t recognise this anger on ground, if you are unwilling to address the anger, then you are unwilling to own the people,” he said.
