Farooq Abdullah claims Sajad Lone’s father brought militancy to Valley

“His (Sajad’s) father came to me when (then J&K Governor) Jagmohan dismissed me (in 1984). He said ‘I am going to Pakistan, I am going to get the gun’,” Abdullah told reporters in Baramulla.

“With folded hands, I told him not to get the gun here. (I told him) the chastity of our mothers and sisters will be affected, our young would be killed… our village, our cities would be plundered. But he brought the gun here. When he came back, he apologised to me and said we have done a mistake, (we should) not have brought the gun.”

The senior Abdullah added, “What is he (Sajad Lone)?. He is also the product of dynasty politics.”

The National Conference chief said his party had extended support to Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP with an aim to put up a united fight against the “tinkering” of Article 35-A and Article 370.

“The government (PDP-NC alliance government) with the support of (Congress) would last for few months and call for elections later after putting up a strong challenge to petitions filed against Article 35-A and Article 370 in the Supreme Court of India,” he said.

“Had the NC been in power, the tinkering with institutional framework of J&K Bank and Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) rules won’t have seen the light of the day.”

Abdullah also welcomed the opening of the Kartarpur corridor and sought the opening of roads extending into Pakistan occupied Kashmir across the Line of Control. “Opening of such more roads between the divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir is the way to help people of the two sides to come closer and not let them feel isolated,” he said.