Jammu, March 7 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday welcomed the elections in Nepal, saying that the formation of governments must be the choice of the people of the country, and not the result of external intervention or aerial bombardment.
Abdullah said he had suggested reviewing the FIRs and releasing those detained during protests in the Kashmir valley over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“As I said earlier, the only people who get to choose their regime are the people who live in that country. Therefore, it is for the people of Iran to decide about their regime, not for somebody sitting in Washington DC or Tel Aviv or New Delhi or Beijing or anywhere else.
“It is for the people of Iran to decide what sort of government they want and how they want to bring about that change. I think the prime minister of the United Kingdom was absolutely correct. You cannot affect regime change by aerial bombardment,” the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He said that in the attempt to bring about a change of government, the life of a religious leader had been sacrificed.
He said that Iran’s regime is headed by the president, who is still alive, and therefore the regime has not changed.
“Instead, a religious leader, whose leadership was acknowledged not only by the Shia community but by Muslims across the world, had been killed. This was not regime change but a gross misuse of force and a violation of international law,” Abdullah said.
Drawing a parallel with other countries, Abdullah referred to Nepal and Bangladesh, saying governments are chosen by the people themselves.
“That is a good thing. As I said about Nepal — who decided the government of Nepal? The people of Nepal did. Just like earlier, who decided the government of Bangladesh? The people of Bangladesh did.
“Now, the people of Nepal have chosen a young prime minister. Earlier, he was perhaps the mayor of Kathmandu. Now the responsibility of the entire country has been placed on his shoulders. It is good. We can only hope that his country maintains good relations with neighbouring countries — that would be the right thing,” Abdullah said.
Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on Saturday heading towards a landslide victory in Nepal's first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests last year, shattering the dominance of the established political parties.
Asked about the statement of his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah lashing out at the Centre over a US waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, the chief minister said that when Farooq Abdullah had spoken about it, he didn't need to say anything more. “Farooq sahib spoke on behalf of the party and on behalf of all of us. There is no need to say anything beyond that,” he said.
Farooq Abdullah had said that the country should take decisions on its own and nobody should decide for it.
On PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s demand for immediate release of protesters arrested in the valley, the chief minister referred to his recent meeting with civil society in Srinagar and said two points clearly emerged during the discussions.
“First, in the cases where FIRs have been registered, the government — meaning the law and order machinery — should adopt a softer approach. Second, those who have been arrested should be released. Civil society has put forward these suggestions, and we have conveyed them further. Now a request will be made to them to take some initiative in this matter with the improved situation,” he said.