Srinagar: National Conference vice-president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah on Friday said that Kashmir is far from normal and tourism cannot be dubbed as normalcy for Kashmir.
In a series of tweets, reacting to the killing of a KP employee and a policeman in Pulwama, he said targeted killings continue unabated.
“Tourism is not normal; it’s a barometer of economic activity. Normalcy is the absence of fear, the absence of terror, the inability of militants to strike at will, the presence of democratic rule & by any yardstick you choose to use, Kashmir is far from normal today,” he Tweeted.
In another Tweet he said: “Rahul in his office yesterday, Riyaz Ahmad Thoker, a SPO with J&K police, in his own home today. Targeted killings continue unabated. I can’t condemn this killing strongly enough. May Allah grant Riyaz a place in Jannat.”
He also condemned the use of force against KPs, who tried to carry out a protest march against the killing in Budgam.
“It’s shameful that legitimate & justified protests are met with a heavy-handed response. This is not new for the people of Kashmir because when all the administration has is a hammer every problem resembles a nail. If the LG’s Govt can’t protect KPs they have a right to protest,” he tweeted.