Jammu, March 27 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday strongly condemned the ongoing conflict involving Iran, calling it an “illegitimate and illegal war” while raising concerns over its humanitarian and regional impact during the J-K Legislative Assembly session.
Addressing the House, Abdullah said, “Honourable Speaker Sir, regarding the way an illegitimate and illegal war was imposed on Iran, I don’t think anyone would stand up and speak in its favour.”
The Chief Minister also expressed anguish over the loss of lives, including Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
“The way humanity was murdered and the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei Sahab, many of his companions, and close relatives were martyred, no amount of condemnation is enough,” he said.
Highlighting civilian casualties, Abdullah pointed to disturbing incidents involving children. “The brutal way innocent schoolgirls were killed… we hardly have any memory of such incidents in our recent history. And the purpose? It’s still not understood,” he added.
Questioning the rationale behind the conflict, he criticised shifting narratives from global powers.
“If you listen to the American President, he himself probably doesn’t realise why this war was imposed on Iran. In the morning, they talk about regime change; in the afternoon, they talk about the Strait of Hormuz; and in the evening, they talk about oil prices,” Abdullah said.
He stressed that the conflict has had a direct impact on India. “So many of our children, so many of our people are stranded in Iran.
Today, there are long queues outside our petrol pumps; that has also affected us directly,” he further said.
Beyond the tangible effects, Abdullah underscored the emotional toll.”
“”Above all, our sentiments, our emotions, and our feelings have been hurt; we have felt pain. I believe we all have the absolute right to express our views here before the House,” Abdullah said.
“But the government repeatedly claims to have such good relations with other countries–and I know this is true, they do have good relations. They have good relations with America and Israel. I personally witnessed the relations with Iran when I was Minister of State for External Affairs with (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee Sahab,” he added.
Abdullah further urged diplomatic intervention from India. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “We know the PM has good relations with Iran and neighbouring countries, and we appeal from this house to the PM that he uses his relations to bring peace to this war and bring this war to an end as soon as possible… and Iran gets another chance to peacefully coexist with the rest of the world.”
Concluding his remarks, Abdullah reiterated his position on behalf of his party colleagues: “Therefore, on my own behalf and on behalf of my colleagues here, we condemn this illegitimate and illegal war imposed on Iran.”
Earlier today, National Conference (JKNC) MLAs staged a protest inside and outside the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, expressing solidarity with Iran over the killing of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
JKNC MLA Tanvir Sadiq said that the party and the J-K government stand in solidarity with Iran over the killing of Ali Khamenei. He said that no country has the right to attack another and urged India’s top leadership to condemn the incident, adding that they are supporting the people of Iran.
Tensions escalated in West Asia, following the killing of 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28. The strikes also killed several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic.
Afterwards, Iran also launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in Gulf countries and against Israel, which resulted in a global energy crisis after Tehran-imposed blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and gas supply, between 20 and 25 million barrels per day, is shipped.
Separately, Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and BJP staged a protest and marched from Indira Chowk towards the Civil Secretariat in Jammu. They called for the establishment of a National Law University in Jammu, protested against the irrational fuel price hike, and accused the National Conference government of “outsourcing” nearly 24,000 jobs, allegedly sidelining merit and transparency.
The demonstration took place outside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
