Omar Abdullah said those behind the Delhi blast must face the harshest punishment but cautioned against viewing all Kashmiris as terrorist sympathisers.
The blast near Red Fort, triggered by a Pulwama doctor’s explosive-laden car, killed 12 and injured several, exposing a wider JeM-linked network.
Abdullah also questioned why authorities delayed legal action against Srinagar doctor Arif Nisar Dar, who was dismissed last year over alleged terror links.
Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, stated on Thursday that the perpetrators of the Delhi explosion should face the harshest penalties, but he stressed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir as a whole cannot be labelled as terrorist sympathisers.
The chief minister claimed that the region's peace and harmony were only being disrupted by a few factors.
On November 10, Dr. Umar Nabi, a resident of Pulwama in south Kashmir, was driving a car loaded with explosives when it exploded near the Red Fort in Delhi, killing twelve persons and injuring numerous more. He has become a pivotal figure in a terror network that includes Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Kashmir.
The explosion happened just hours after a cache of weapons and ammunition and almost 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate were found in the rented home of another Kashmiri physician, Muzammil Ganaie, in Faridabad, which borders Delhi.
Muzammil is one among eight individuals, including seven Kashmiris, who have been detained on suspicion of having ties to the interstate "white collar" Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group, which is based in Faridabad.
Talking to reporters here, Abdullah said, "These few people are responsible for this attack. Those who are guilty should be given the strictest punishment, and innocent people should not get caught in it."
"No amount of condemnation is enough for this incident. The brutal killing of innocent people in such a manner is extremely shameful. No one can justify such an act. The investigation will continue," he said.
Emphasising that the entire population of Jammu and Kashmir cannot be branded as sympathisers of terrorism, the chief minister said only a few elements were responsible for disturbing peace and harmony in the region.
"Every resident of Jammu and Kashmir is not a terrorist. Not every Kashmiri is on the side of terrorists. It is only a handful of people who have tried to disturb the peace and harmony here," he said.
"When we begin to look at every Kashmiri Muslim through the same lens and try to give the impression that every Kashmiri Muslim is a terrorist, it becomes very difficult to keep things on the right track," he said.
Abdullah said those responsible for the attack should be brought to justice and given the harshest punishment while ensuring that innocent people are not harassed.
"Those who are guilty must face the strictest punishment. Innocent people should not get caught in it," he added.
In response to enquiries over the arrest of Arif Nisar Dar, a physician from Srinagar's SMHS Hospital who was fired by the Lieutenant Governor in 2023 due to suspected ties to terrorism, Abdullah questioned why, in spite of the evidence, no legal action had been taken sooner.
"What is new about this? Haven't we seen university professors involved before? I even remember an associate professor earlier. Where is it written that educated people cannot get involved in such things? "If you believed he had terror links and you had evidence, why didn't you take that evidence to court? Why was he not prosecuted? Merely dismissing someone from service doesn't end the matter — and today, we are seeing the result of that," he said.
Dar, from Nowgam in Srinagar, is among the eight people arrested in connection with the terror module.
