Why not to other Hindus? Farooq Abdullah calls threats to Kashmiri Pandits a plot

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has claimed that threats to Kashmiri Pandits were a plot by the Union Territory's administration to create fear and stall Jammu and Kashmir's statehood. The BJP said the Kashmir leader was extending "soft support to terrorists".Farooq Abdullah's claims differ from the position taken by his son and Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah. (Image: PTI/ AI-edit)National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has questioned why Kashmiri Pandit employees were receiving threat letters while senior Hindu officers posted in Jammu and Kashmir were not. He alleged that the threats were part of a conspiracy by the Union Territory's Lieutenant Governor-led administration to create fear and prevent the restoration of statehood.The explosive allegation by the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister comes days after two letters purportedly issued by the little-known United Liberation Council (UCL) targeted Pandit employees and revealed their personal details. The ULC, sources in security agencies suspect, is a proxy of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Farooq Abdullah's claims, however, differ from the position previously taken by his son and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.The BJP accused Farooq Abdullah of casting doubt on Islamist threats and trivialising the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus. BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said Abdullah was extending "soft support to terrorists"."This is the same pro-terror mindset that forced Kashmiri Hindus out of the Valley and allowed the release of 70 hardcore terrorists!" Bhandari said in a post on X.The controversy also comes amid the reopening of decades-old cases involving the abduction and killing of Kashmiri Pandits during the peak of armed insurgency, including poet Sarwanand Koul Premi, his son and nurse Sarla Bhat. Just weeks earlier, US Ambassador Sergio Gor visited Srinagar on August 19 and met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Gor described Jammu and Kashmir as "an important part of India" and praised the improvement in its security situation.While the senior Hindu officials that Farooq Abdullah is referring to are in all-India and central services, and therefore, temporary residents, Kashmiri Pandits were permanent dwellers of the Valley before they were driven out by jihadi forces. Terrorists have tried to scuttle the efforts of the government to help Kashmiri Pandits return to their ancestral homeland. Such threats spread panic among the Kashmiri Pandit community, which has faced persecution and was forced to flee, leaving behind their properties. While the senior government officials who Farooq Abdullah is referring to are in all-India and central services jobs, and temporarily stationed in Kashmir. Kashmiri Hindus belong to the Valley and there has been effort to help them to rehabilitate them in their homeland. This is something that the terrorists do not want.FAROOQ LINKS THREATS TO KASHMIRI PANDITS TO J&K STATEHOODThe political confrontation began after Abdullah questioned the allegedly selective nature of the threats while speaking in Anantnag on Wednesday.He pointed to senior Hindu civil and police officers serving in Jammu and Kashmir and asked why they had not received similar threats. Abdullah then directly accused the Lieutenant Governor-led administration of being responsible for the intimidation campaign."Who is giving this threat? Don't Kashmiri Pandits live here? Tell me, all the officers here are from outside and are Hindus. The DIG, DGP, SSPs and district SPs are Hindus. The DCs are Hindus. Why are they not getting this threat? The question is, if Hindus are getting this threat, why are they not getting this threat? This is a conspiracy, and I am saying this honestly," Abdullah said."This conspiracy is only trying to keep this region deprived of statehood, and an environment of fear is being created. They are roaming all over the world and saying peace has come and we have ended militancy. Then where is this coming from? Answer me," he added.Abdullah also questioned Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, under whose administration the police and public order machinery function in the Union Territory."The Lieutenant Governor, who has all the police and all the people here, why doesn't he answer this? Ask him. Where is this coming from? Who is giving this threat? I am accusing them. These people are issuing this threat, and they are responsible for this threat," he said.While Abdullah questioned why senior Hindu officers faced no threats, those named in the letters by terrorists were government officials too.Security agencies have been examining the authenticity and origin of the two threat letters to Kashmir Pandits.While there have been demands for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood from the parties based in the Valley, the Centre's last assurance over it came in March 2025. Home Minister Amit Shah said that the statehood would be restored but refused to disclose the timeline publicly."We have given the assurance that statehood will be restored. From the very beginning, we have said that statehood would be given," Shah said at an event. More recently, in February 2026, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal indicated that people would "soon hear about a decision", without announcing one.BJP ACCUSES FAROOQ ABDULLAH OF MOCKING PANDITSThe BJP described Abdullah's statement as an attempt to discredit threats faced by the minority community instead of confronting the terrorist organisation behind them."Farooq Abdullah's statement is a soft support to the terrorists. Farooq Abdullah's statement is the same as Sonia Gandhi's statement on Batla House, when, as per Salman Khurshid, she had tears in her eyes for the terrorists at Batla House," Bhandari said."Farooq Abdullah also says that Kashmiri Hindus have never been subjected to such abuse. There can be no more painful statement than this. This makes it clear that Farooq Abdullah is doing injustice to Kashmiri Hindus," he added.The BJP spokesperson argued that comparing protected senior officials with Kashmiri Pandit employees ignored the different security conditions under which they lived and worked. He alleged that Abdullah's remarks reflected the same political mindset that failed to prevent the community's exodus from the Valley in 1990.The rise of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, targeted killings and public threats forced most Kashmiri Pandits to flee the Valley in and around 1990, leaving thousands of families displaced across India. The Kashmir-based rights group Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti estimated that 399 Kashmiri Hindus were killed by terrorists between 1990 and 2011, of which 75% were during the first year of the armed insurgency.CM OMAR WARNED AGAINST TAKING THREATS LIGHTLYFarooq Abdullah's claims differ sharply in tone from the position previously taken by his son and CM Omar Abdullah. After the first letter surfaced in August, Omar asked police and intelligence agencies to protect the employees and identify those responsible."Targeted killings of minorities have taken place. Many employees were planning to flee, but they were locked inside their camps. This threat should not be taken lightly. There should be action against those who are behind such threats, and the security of Kashmiri Pandit employees should be ensured," Omar said on August 14.Following the second letter, Omar again called for a full investigation."This has become a serious concern. They should not be receiving threats at all. The law and order and security administrations, including the police and our intelligence agencies, must not take these matters lightly. They need to make headway to determine where these threats are emanating from," he said.TWO THREAT LETTERS TO KASHMIRI PANDITS SURFACED IN AUGUSTTwo separate letters from terror outfit ULC, targeting Kashmiri Pandits, surfaced in August. Intelligence and police sources described the ULC as a possible front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.The first letter, dated August 7, named six Kashmiri Pandit employees reportedly working in the Revenue Department and published their telephone numbers. It claimed to possess information about their families, homes and workplaces, warning that they could be targeted even if they moved to Jammu.The second letter was dated August 23. It named six Pandits and disclosed more extensive personal information, including residential addresses, house and street details, telephone numbers and vehicle registration numbers."As already warned, wherever you are and wherever you go, we are watching your every move," the letter said. Both letters were signed by a person identifying himself as Ahmad Bilal, the ULC's "media coordinator".Such threats spread panic among the Kashmiri Pandit community, which has faced persecution and was forced to flee, leaving behind their properties. While the senior government officials who Farooq Abdullah is referring to are in all-India and central services jobs, and temporarily stationed in Kashmir. Kashmiri Hindus belong to the Valley and there has been effort to help them to rehabilitate them in their homeland. This is something that the terrorists do not want.- EndsPublished By: Sushim MukulPublished On: Sep 3, 2026 15:09 IST