Omar Abdullah calls Asiya Andrabi a hypocrite

JAMMU - Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called Asiya Andrabi, the chief of the separatist Dukhtaran-e-Millat, a hypocrite.

“Andrabi, the Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief, whose son had applied for a passport to study in Malaysia, has been saying that the youth in the valley should give up their studies and make ’sacrifices for the movement for liberation of Kashmir’. She wants to take her son out of the troubled valley when other children are unable to go to schools and colleges,” Abdullah said.

Claiming that he was doing everything possible to control a tumultuous situation in the Kashmir Valley, Abdullah said: “It has gone on for one and a half months. Clearly, the aim is to ensure that even where the protests take place, no deaths result as a consequence of dealing with those protests. I believe that if we get a decent period of time without any loss of lives, gradually we will be able to restore normalcy in the valley.”

” It was more important to look at internal autonomy within the regions and sub-regions in order to dispel any impression among the regions being discriminated, he said, adding this is possible only with devolution of powers as soon as possible,” he added.

The Kashmir Valley has experienced a surge of violence that has led authorities to impose frequent curfew restrictions in several parts of the state.

Curfew was initially imposed on June 30 in parts of northern and southern Kashmir to stop demonstrations over a couple of protesters who died in police firing.

It was lifted some days later, but was again imposed as fresh violence erupted. (ANI)