Farooq Abdullah on India-Pakistan talks: 'too late' if we wait for guns
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has again urged India and Pakistan to talk, saying waiting for the firing to stop would be too late.
Farooq Abdullah, the National Conference president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has made a fresh call for India and Pakistan to start talking. Speaking to reporters in Jammu on Thursday, 12 November, he said that if both sides wait for the guns to fall silent before they talk, it will be too late. “Goliyaan band hone ka intezaar karenge toh…” was the line Indian outlets ran in their headlines.
What he said
Abdullah argued that force will not settle the dispute between the two countries and that dialogue cannot wait for violence to end, PTI reported. It was a direct answer to the position of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has long said that “talks and terror cannot go together”.
In the same remarks he repeated that Kashmir is a part of India and asked Pakistan to end cross-border terrorism, the Kashmir Observer reported. He also said earlier comments of his about Pakistan had been misrepresented.
The context
He spoke after visiting the family of a retired information officer, and days after twin attacks in Kulgam and Kishtwar killed two Special Police Officers in Indian-administered Kashmir. Several Indian outlets carried almost identical wording, which suggests they all drew on the same PTI press interaction.
Abdullah has made this argument many times, and it usually draws criticism from the ruling BJP, which accuses him of being soft on Pakistan. His son Omar Abdullah is the current chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, which gives his words extra attention.
Why it matters to Pakistan
There are no formal talks between Islamabad and New Delhi, and trade, visas and cricket ties remain frozen. Calls like this from mainstream Indian politicians are rare, and they get noticed on both sides of the border. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said many times it is open to dialogue on all issues, including Kashmir.
Neither government has responded to his comments. Watch for the BJP’s reply in Jammu, where his remarks usually draw a quick rebuttal.
