"I was in complete shock. I couldn't believe this could happen after so many years. I thought things had come to a point where, probably, normalcy is returning. But I was wrong," Dr Farooq Abdullah, three-time chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and president of the National Conference (NC) told The Quint, breaking his silence on the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 dead.
On 22 April, in one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, terrorists opened fire on tourists at the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam. The attack has triggered widespread condemnation and grief across political parties, and a series of retaliatory measures by the Indian government, including suspending the key Indus Waters Treaty.
Senior journalist Harinder Baweja spoke with Dr Abdullah who expressed his grief at the tragedy—and praised the unprecedented public response across J&K as well as in Ladakh, where citizens stood united in grief and anger.
He called this solidarity "a window of opportunity" for New Delhi—and urged the government to restore statehood immediately, arguing that "elected leaders must be part of the security and governance apparatus".
He asserted that the ultimate responsibility lies with the Prime Minister, who must ensure the security of all Indians.
Read the edited excerpts:
You have been Chief Minister, you have seen the bloody violence of the 90s, and we are now in 2025. But Pahalgam seems to be different. What were your first thoughts and feelings when you heard about what happened in Pahalgam?
I was in complete shock. I couldn't believe this could happen after so many years. I thought things had come to a point where, probably, normalcy is returning. But I was wrong.
Believe me, I could not sleep, I could not think. What must have been going on in the minds of not only that lady who lost her husband after marriage. That child that was sitting on the body of his father, full of blood. I thought, where is the humanity? How we have we become animals? What's happened to us? They cannot get Kashmir, even if they try for 1,000 years it is not going to become Pakistan. I thought they realised this, but I was wrong.
Did you that day feel like a bullet had hit your chest?
I felt I was dying, for I believe in peace, prosperity. What do we want? We don't want that country, we don't want anything from that country. We want to live in peace and harmony and grow.
It was the first large-scale attack after the revocation of Article 370. I have not seen civilians being targeted in such a manner and in such large numbers. Let me ask you, where do you think that buck stops? Does it stop at the door of the Lieutenant Governor? Does it stop at the door of the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah? Or does it stop at both their doors?
This is not the time to lay the blames. If we start pointing fingers at people, we lose the main battle that we are fighting unitedly to get rid of terrorism once for all. If I lay blame on the Lieutenant Governor, or I lay blame on the security forces, or if I lay blame on the Home Minister, I'm going to be making the biggest mistake. I don't want to make that mistake.
Time will come. Time will come when we have overcome this tragedy, and we have overcome the battle that probably will rage. It is after that we'll sit down and see where we went wrong, and why we went wrong, and what should have been done, and what should not have been done.
But where do you think the buck stops? It's important, because unless we fix accountability, we are not preparing ourselves for the next attack.
It should be the Prime Minister who should make up his mind about this. I'm not going to suggest to him. He doesn't need my suggestions. He is the master of the game today. He is responsible for security and well-being of every Indian, whatever his religion, whatever his language, whatever his province or place that he comes from. He has to protect us all, therefore, it is for him to take such steps.
Dr Abdullah, a special session in the J&K Assembly was called, and everybody spoke in one voice. The chief minister, Omar Abdullah, also said that he doesn't have the face at this point to seek the restoration of statehood and he cannot do it on the bodies of 26 lives. But given the way that Jammu and Kashmir has responded, given the solidarity that the Kashmiris have shown, given the unity, given the slogans... they have defeated this Hindu-Muslim ideology on the streets today. Is this not a window of opportunity that new Delhi must see?
It is a window of opportunity, and I think Delhi should immediately consider restoring statehood of Jammu & Kashmir. It's vital. Can you imagine, the elected chief Minister is not part of the security system. I was the chief minister who started unified command so that all intelligence could be pulled in. That's how we won the situation in 2002. Today, the Chief Minister is not consulted. Isn't that unfortunate that the elected government is not in charge of it? I think Delhi should really look into this.
May I ask you about the book authored by the former R&AW chief AS Dulat. The book is dedicated almost to his relationship with you, how much he values you as a friend, how valuable you are to Kashmir. Yet, in that book, he alleges that you were willing to help New Delhi to abrogate Article 370. What would you would you like to say about that?
I would say what Queen Elizabeth said when Meghan Markle and her husband wrote a book: My story may be different. He has done a great disservice to my friendship. I never said to him that we will join the BJP. I never said to him that I'll help in the abrogation of Article 370. Rather, I told him, I wish they had discussed with us and we would have told them what would be the repercussions of abrogating Article 370.
For the full interview, watch the video.