National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Sunday lashed out at the Jammu and Kashmir governor and said it was the “height of incompetence and laziness” that Governor Malik-led administration required restriction on movement of civilian vehicles on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for the security of Amarnath pilgrims. Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said the governor’s administration was the only administration in 30 years that has required the closure of the highway. “It’s not that we are unconcerned about yatri security, far from it. It’s that the administration of Governor Malik is the only administration in 30 years that has required the closure of the highway/railway line to protect yatris & that’s the height of incompetence & laziness Abdullah was responding to Malik’s remarks that the people of Kashmir should bear such restrictions as it was a matter of security of pilgrims. Reacting to the restriction, NC leaders Hasnain Masoodi and Akbar Lone decried the restriction, saying that the “diktat” will put the public to undue duress. Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have barred civilian traffic on Qazigund-Nashri stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway for five-and-a-half hours from 10 am to 3:30 pm in order to allow incident-free passage to vehicles carrying Amarnath pilgrims.
