Farooq Abdullah should condemn Pakistan instead of advocating for talks, says J-K BJP chief

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 18 (ANI): Reacting sharply to Farooq Abdullah's "killings won't stop unless..." remark, Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina on Tuesday said that the NC chief should condemn Pakistan instead of calling for talks with the neighbouring country.
Abdullah on Monday had reacted to the targetted killing of the Kashmiri Pandit Puran Krishan in J-K's Shopian and said that such incidents will not stop in the region "unless the Centre holds talks with Pakistan".
The BJP came down heavily on the NC chief's remark and told him to condemn Pakistan.
Speaking to ANI, Raina said, "Instead of advocating for talks with Pakistan, Farooq Abdullah should condemn Pakistan and also call for unity in India's fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism."
Recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan via bus, the BJP leader said that Pakistan responded to a noble gesture with the invasion of Kargil that led to a nearly two-month-long war between the two countries in 1999.
"We have seen in the past that even Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to Pakistan, he had visited Lahore. Vajpayee ji went to Lahore via bus. On that trip, the son of Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah was also there as a Union Minister and we have seen how Pakistan's ISI and the Pakistan Army invaded Kargil," he said.
"Again Vajpayee had called then Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf to Agra, but after that, there was a terror attack on the Parliament by the Pakistani terrorists. When PM Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, he called Nawab Sharif (then Pak PM) to his oath-taking ceremony, but nothing changed," Raina added.
Mentioning PM Modi's unplanned visit to Islamabad to attend a function of Nawan Sharif in 2016, Raina said that Pakistan always responded negatively to India's attempts for normalcy.
"All these initiatives taken by the Prime Minister were to bring peace and normalcy in this area but Pakistan always responded negatively. the question is that whom should we talk to? As the elected government in Pakistan has no say Pakistan is being controlled and run by ISI," he said.
"Pakistan always remains a puppet government and a remote control in the hands of ISI and the Pakistani military," the BJP leader added.
He said that instead of talking to Pakistan, the government will follow the path of Union Home Minister Amit Shah who had said in J-K that he would talk to the youth of Kashmir.
"We will talk to our own youth. We need to talk to the youngsters in Kashmir and if there is any sort of confusion among the youth, we will clear that confusion," he said.
Citing the reason behind the targeted killings in Kashmir, Raina said that it was happening because of the massive anti-terror operations being carried out by the security forces in the valley and the killing of the terrorists in the region. He said that the terrorists are frustrated and which is why they are resorting to the killings.
"There is frustration among the terror outfits sponsored by Pakistan as they don't dare to come face to face with Army, police and paramilitary forces. That is why they target the innocent, unarmed locals and especially Kashmiri pandits and non-locals Hindus living in Kashmir valley so that the atmosphere of fear can be created," he said.
Raina assured of action against the terrorists and said that the government will not allow any "anti-India forces" to survive in Kashmir. (ANI)