Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Centre’s security record, asserting that the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories in August 2019 have completely failed to break the decades-long cycle of violence and bloodshed that residents were repeatedly promised would end.

Addressing reporters during a visit to south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Abdullah delivered an unambiguous verdict on the past six years: “We were told in 2019 that this bloodshed would stop, that the cycle of violence would finally be broken. But it has not.” He stressed that innocent civilians continue to pay with their lives, underscoring that the constitutional changes have delivered neither normalcy nor the lasting peace that was aggressively marketed by New Delhi as their primary justification.

The Chief Minister pointedly shifted responsibility to those who hold actual control over security forces and intelligence operations in the Union Territory. “You will have to ask those responsible for our security why this violence has not ended. That responsibility does not lie in our hands,” he declared, highlighting the limited powers of the elected government in a region still governed under a central framework where law and order remains largely with the Lieutenant Governor and Union Home Ministry.

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Abdullah painted a grim picture of unrelenting incidents, noting that “somewhere or the other, violence keeps erupting.” He cited the accidental blast at Srinagar’s Nowgam police station last Friday that killed five people—including forensic experts and a civilian employee—as well as the broader pattern of attacks. In just two days, he personally visited seven grieving families across Srinagar neighbourhoods such as HMT Zainakote, Bemina, Qamarwari, Natipora, and Wanabal to offer condolences, a sombre reminder of the human toll that shows no sign of abating.

Expressing profound anguish, the Chief Minister appealed for the cycle of violence that has scarred Jammu and Kashmir for over 35 years to finally be halted. His remarks represent the strongest public indictment yet from the head of the Union Territory’s elected government, directly challenging the official narrative that the 2019 decisions have brought irreversible stability and making clear that, until accountability is enforced at the highest levels, the people of Kashmir will continue to live under the shadow of fear and loss.

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