Why Sudden Rise In Militant Attacks In J&K After Omar Abdullah Swearing-in, Asks NC

With J&K seeing a sudden spike in militancy related incidents, NC leaders have raised questions over the rising militant attacks.

Srinagar: As Jammu and Kashmir witnesses a sudden spurt in militant attacks after the swearing-in of the Omar Abdullah led NC-Congress coalition government, the principal alliance partner NC has raised questions over the spike with party president Farooq Abdullah blaming “people who were trying to destabilise the government” for the attacks.

Ever since Omar took oath as the Chief Minister of J&K Union Territory on October 16, 2024 in the backdrop of Article 370 abrogation, the region has seen a dramatic escalation in targeted attacks and encounters between militants and security forces.

Twin encounters rocked Kashmir valley on Saturday, one in the heart of the city in Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar. Another encounter raged in south Kashmir's Anantnag where the security forces claimed to have gunned down two unidentified militants. Up north, a search operation was underway by the security forces when this report was filed. The triple operations were preceded by a targeted attack on Friday evening when suspected militants shot and injured two non-local labourers from Uttar Pradesh in central Kashmir's Budgam district.

As already reported by ETV Bharat, October alone saw 18 militancy related killings in the region.

Senior NC leader and Srinagar MP, Aga Ruhullah, while condemning Friday's targeted attack on migrant workers questioned the sudden spurt in the militancy related incidents in the region after the recent assembly elections in which NC emerged as the single largest party.

“Saddened by the news of the terrorist attack on the civilians in Mazhama Budgam. My sympathies and prayers with the victims and their families. The BJP regime which is directly in control of the security in J&K should be held accountable for these repeated failures. Also want to ask why this sudden rise in these attacks immediately after the recent elections?” Ruhullah quipped in a terse post on X.

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah also demanded an investigation in the Budgam terror attack and said that he has a “doubt that it is done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government in Jammu and Kashmir”.

"It should be investigated. How is it that the government has come and this is happening? I have a doubt that it was done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government...If they (terrorists) are caught then we will get to know who is doing this. They should not be killed, they should be caught and asked who is behind them...We should check if there is an agency who is trying to destabilise Omar Abdullah," Farooq Abdullah told ANI.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP President Ravinder Raina said that everyone should support the Army, police and security forces.

"Farooq Abdullah knows that this terrorism is coming from Pakistan... This is a well-known fact. What is there to investigate in this? He knows that the terrorist attacks that are taking place in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and terrorist organizations are involved in this... We all should support our army, police and security forces... We have to fight unitedly against those who are the enemies of humanity," Raina told ANI.

Former Deputy CM Kavinder Gupta described the attack as a cowardly attack during festivities.

"There are some people here who are working as per the instructions of Pakistan, this is a cowardly attack on a festive occasion. This is wrong...there is a need to identify people who are carrying out these attacks. There are so many people here who still work as Over Ground Workers and Underground Workers," he said.
On Friday, police said that terrorists fired upon two non-locals in Mazhama, in the Magam area of Budgam district. After the incident security forces cordoned off the whole area to nab the attackers.

"Terrorists fired upon two non-locals in Mazhama, in the Magam area of Budgam district. The injured were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, where their condition is said to be stable. The whole area was cordoned off by the security forces to nab the attackers," official sources said.

Earlier today, an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Srinagar's Khanyar area of Jammu and Kashmir.
"A cordon and search operation in Khanyar area of district Srinagar has resulted in an exchange of fire. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow," Kashmir Zone Police posted on X.

On October 29, the security forces neutralised three terrorists in a high-stakes encounter in Akhnoor, Jammu and Kashmir, following an attack on an Army convoy.
On October 20, a doctor and six construction workers were killed when terrorists attacked a tunnel construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in the Ganderbal district. (With agency inputs)