Omar Abdullah’s job failure pushed Kashmiri Youth into harassment outside J&K: Pawan Sharma

JAMMU: Pawan Sharma, Senior BJP Leader and State Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, Jammu & Kashmir, launched a scathing attack on Omar Abdullah, stating that instead of accepting responsibility for his government’s repeated failures, Omar Abdullah has once again resorted to blame-shifting to hide his inefficiency, weak policies, and lack of vision.

Pawan Sharma said that had the Omar Abdullah government provided meaningful, timely, and sustainable employment opportunities to the youth of Kashmir, thousands of young men and women would not have been forced to migrate to other states in search of livelihood. “The painful reality is that due to the absence of a robust employment policy, Kashmiri youth were compelled to leave their homes and, in several cases, faced harassment, humiliation, and insecurity at the hands of anti-social elements outside the Union Territory,” he asserted.

Taking a direct dig at Omar Abdullah’s election rhetoric, Sharma said that grand promises such as regularisation of daily wagers and creation of 1,00,000 jobs turned out to be nothing more than hollow assurances. “These promises were aggressively marketed to mislead unemployed youth and struggling daily wagers. Today, neither regularisation has materialised nor jobs have been delivered. This betrayal has shattered the trust of thousands of families who believed in Omar Abdullah’s words,” he said.

Sharma added that daily wagers continue to live in uncertainty, fighting for their legitimate rights, while educated unemployed youth are left with frustration and despair. “This is not just administrative failure, it is moral failure. Making false promises to the youth for political gains and abandoning them later is the most irresponsible form of politics,” he remarked.

Highlighting the alarming rise in harassment of Kashmiri youth outside the Union Territory, Sharma expressed serious concern over recent incidents in neighbouring states. He pointed to the brutal assault on young Kashmiri shawl sellers in Uttarakhand’s Vikasnagar area, where an 18-year-old youth sustained serious head and arm injuries after being attacked by a shopkeeper and others, allegedly because of his regional and religious identity. This incident has sparked outrage and raised questions about the safety and dignity of Kashmiri workers living and earning outside their home state.

Sharma also noted that similar reports have emerged from Himachal Pradesh, where Kashmiri shawl vendors have alleged harassment, profiling, and arbitrary checks by locals that disrupt their ability to work freely and safely. Such incidents have created fear and uncertainty among youth who travel to hill states every season to earn a livelihood.

He emphasized that instead of introspection, Omar Abdullah is attempting to divert public attention by blaming others. “This is a classic tactic of failed leadership. When a government lacks performance on the ground, it replaces accountability with excuses and empty rhetoric,” Sharma said.

The BJP leader underscored that the future of Kashmir’s youth was systematically ignored under Omar Abdullah’s leadership. “Empty promises, weak governance, and politically motivated policies pushed the youth into uncertainty. Today, when the consequences of those failures are evident, Omar Abdullah is trying to wash his hands of responsibility by indulging in political theatrics,” he added.

Pawan Sharma underlined that employment is not merely an economic issue but also a social and security imperative. “A government that fails to create opportunities for its youth also fails to provide them dignity, stability, and protection. Omar Abdullah’s policies not only failed to generate jobs but also failed to safeguard the self-respect and future of Kashmiri youth,” he said.

Reaffirming BJP’s commitment, Sharma said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party believes in youth-centric development, transparent governance, and real empowerment through skill development, entrepreneurship, and sustainable job creation. Unlike Omar Abdullah’s politics of blame, denial, and false promises, the BJP stands for performance, accountability, and results.”

Pawan Sharma urged the people of Jammu & Kashmir, especially the youth, daily wagers, and those earning their livelihoods outside J&K, to see through hollow narratives and judge leaders on the basis of delivery, credibility, and commitment to the future of the region, not on misleading slogans and unfulfilled assurances.