March 25
Akbar Lone, the National Conference (NC) candidate from Kupwara for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, has courted controversy by raising pro-Pakistan slogans and even said at a recent rally that he would abuse those who abuse the neighbouring country.
At a time when India-Pakistan tension remains thorny due to Militant activities and ceasefire violations from across the Line of Control (LoC), Lone said that friendship between the two countries is the only way forward. He even raised pro-Pakistan slogans.
“Pakistan should prosper. Pakistan should be successful and may Indo-Pak friendship remain intact. I am a supporter of that friendship. If someone hurls one abuse at them (Pakistan), I will hurl ten from here,” he said. “The nation is a Muslim nation. This means that if I abuse them, I am abusing myself.”
Lone even said that BJP workers had previously yelled ‘Pakistan murdabad’ slogans and he had immediately countered with ‘Pakistan zindabad’ slogans of his own.
Even as Lone has been generous in his praise for Pakistan, a country that supports and shields Militants, he has targeted PDP for being hand-in-glove with the BJP.
He has often blamed Mehbooba Mufti’s erstwhile government in alliance with BJP for having sacrificed the interest of people in J&K. His most-recent remarks favouring Pakistan, however, is likely to invite a blitzkrieg of political backlash in a highly-charged political environment across the country.