Mehbooba lauds navy officer’s widow for peace appeal, slams NC chief

Srinagar, May 03: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday lauded Pahalgam terror attack victim Lt Vinay Narwal’s widow Himanshi Narwal, for her appeal for communal harmony, saying the country should draw inspiration from her.
Mentioning Himanshi’s “don’t want people going after Muslims and Kashmiris” comment, Mufti sought to corner National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah for his remarks to a section of media that attacks like the one in Pahalgam on April 22 cannot happen without support.
In a media interview, the NC chief had said, “I do not think these things can happen unless someone helped them. They came from there. How did they come?”
The PDP chief said Abdullah’s remarks were not only “misleading” but also “fatal”, especially at a time when students and traders from Jammu and Kashmir were highly vulnerable and prone to attacks after the Pahalgam incident that left the nation grieving and outraged.
“Farooq Sahab’s statement implicating Kashmiris in the Pahalgam terror attack is deeply disturbing and regrettable. As a senior leader, that too as a Kashmiri, his statement risks fuelling divisive narratives providing ammunition to certain media channels to further stereotype and stigmatise Kashmiris and Muslims,” Mehbooba said in a post on X.
“We should draw inspiration from Himanshi Narwal, who, despite the martyrdom of her husband, urged Indians not to blame and target Kashmiris or Muslims,” she added.
On Thursday, Himanshi Narwal, who got married to Navy officer Lt Narwal just a week before she lost him in the April 22 terror attack, said, “We don’t want people going after Muslims and Kashmiris. We want peace and justice. People who have done wrong to him should be punished.”
Lt Narwal was killed in Pahalgam just 10 days ago. He would have been 27 today. The photo of the navy officer’s body lying on the ground in the lush Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam and his newlywed wife slumped beside him with an empty gaze has become the haunting symbol of the ghastly attack that claimed 26 lives.