Singing in chorus two former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday expressed hope that the new rulers in Afghanistan (Taliban) would deliver good governance and emerge as 'role models' if they went on to follow 'Islamic law' (Shaira law). The first statement on Taliban gaining control in Afghanistan came from Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Interacting with the reporters after paying tributes to Sheikh Mohd Abdullah on his 39th death anniversary in Srinagar, the National Conference President said, "I hope they (Taliban) will deliver good governance and follow Islamic principles in that country (Afghanistan) and respect human rights. They should try to develop friendly relations with every country". Dr Abdullah was responding to a question on the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban had gained control on ground zero.
Interestingly, the comments made by Dr Abdullah immediately went viral on several media platforms and social media handles.
As the news item was trending it prompted the National Conference to issue a clarification.
In a hard hitting statement the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference posted a tweet, "Backs? How? Falsely attributing things to Dr Farooq Abdullah that he NEVER said is DEPLORABLE. Twisting words and misrepresenting the intended meaning only exposes the so-called “channels” that manufacture stories with mala fide intention".
In another tweet JKNC said, "Dr Farooq’s statement on Afghanistan is simply an invocation of Human Rights (Insaani-Huqooq) & Social Justice (Insaaf) in the turbulent country. Extremely shocking & disappointing to see the tabloid media contorting this into an endorsement for Taliban rule. Liars will be liars''.
Shortly after, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti too went public with her comments. She told reporters in Kulgam, "the Taliban is emerging as a reality. They had an image of anti-human rights during their first rule. They can set an example for the world if they follow the real Sharia law which includes women rights,& not their interpretation of Sharia. Mehbooba Mufti also claimed if they failed to do so and adopted their own model of governance of 1990 then they would not only compound miseries of other countries but the people of Afghanistan.