Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday emphasized that countering militancy requires a strategy focused on winning public support, maintaining that security-driven actions alone will not ensure sustainable peace.
CM Omar cautioned that punitive steps such as razing homes and conducting large-scale detentions could prove detrimental to the larger objective, appealing to the central government to open a dialogue with disaffected youth, asserting that their grievances can no longer be overlooked.
The Chief Minister made these remarks while interacting with the media after participating in a startup-related gathering in Srinagar. His comments came in response to questions regarding the recent razing of properties belonging to two alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives in Anantnag, which followed the killing of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi on Wednesday (July 22).
Reflecting on his prior term as Chief Minister, Abdullah pointed out that while security forces are capable of containing insurgent activity up to a point, they cannot single-handedly bring an end to the conflict. He stressed that the actual defeat of terrorism will materialize only when the civilian population openly sides with the administration against it, adding that the police, army, and CRPF can only go so far in this battle.
Addressing the broader public sentiment, Abdullah acknowledged the widespread anger that followed last year’s Pahalgam attack, noting that citizens had openly condemned the violence and backed counter-terror operations. However, he warned that reports of detaining between 2,000 and 2,500 people risk shifting that public outrage away from militants and toward the authorities. He reiterated that to achieve lasting success, it is imperative to keep the local populace on their side and not alienate them through heavy-handed measures.
