Farooq Abdullah, president of the National Conference and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, issued his first public statement after the attempt on his life, describing the moment with a calmness that belied the gravity of what was unfolding around him.
“I was coming out of the venue when I heard the sound of a firecracker. They immediately rushed me into a car. I was later told that there was a man with a gun who fired two shots. I don’t know this man (the accused) nor do I have any information about him,” Abdullah said.
The attack took place on Wednesday evening when Abdullah was leaving for a wedding reception in Jammu. Officials said a gunman approached from behind and opened fire. The attacker was overpowered and taken into custody by security personnel at the scene. Abdullah escaped unhurt.
Protected from the Z category, yet the shooter made his mark
What has troubled Abdullah’s party colleagues as much as the attack itself is the question of how it was even possible. Abdullah holds category Z security on the Central Protection List, a designation that ranks him among the country’s most closely guarded public figures, ranking above categories Y, Y-plus and X and below only Z-plus and Z-plus with an advanced security link.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and Nasir Aslam Wani, an adviser to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, were present when the incident occurred. So are cabinet ministers, several members of the legislature and numerous party leaders.
“Despite such tight security measures, how did this person manage to get there with a weapon? It’s a security lapse,” said Tejinder Pal Singh Aman, president of the National Youth Conference in Jammu. “This happened despite the presence of the sitting Deputy Chief Minister, Political Advisor to Hon’ble Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers, several MLAs and many leaders. We condemn this incident and want the truth to come out as soon as possible.”
The National Conference calls for a review and redesign of security
National Conference leaders quickly condemned the attack and demanded accountability. Party leaders have called for a thorough investigation into how the assailant managed to get close to the former chief minister in public office, and urged an immediate boost to Abdullah’s security measures.
“Only thanks to God our Sahib is safe and well. It was a serious incident indeed. It is a major security lapse. It cannot be taken lightly. There should be a thorough investigation by the police,” said Rattan Lal Gupta, president of the Jammu National Conference, who also called for an immediate audit of Abdullah’s security cover.
National Conference MLA Ajaz Ahmed Jan echoed these concerns and called the disruption alarming. “Farooq Abdullah is absolutely fine. It is a breach of security… There should be an investigation,” he said, stressing that it was deeply disturbing that any person had even managed to bring a firearm into the venue.
Top political alert
Apart from the immediate security issues, some party members used the incident to make a broader political point about the state of security in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
“Earlier it was said that after the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution, Jammu and Kashmir will be completely safe. Earlier, leaders had to protect themselves from militants, but now leaders of Jammu and Kashmir are being shot at in broad daylight,” Aman said, warning that such incidents pose a serious threat to the region’s political leadership.
His remarks signal that the attack is unlikely to remain a matter of security administration alone – it has already acquired a political dimension that the Jammu and Kashmir government will need to address with both urgency and credibility.
