By Arun Joshi / Daily World Bureau / Jammu 

The assassination attempt on Kashmir’s veteran leader and five-time Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has shaken the entire nation, with regional and national leaders joining in condemnation and seeking a thorough probe to unravel the motives behind the incident. The would-be assassin, Kamal Singh Jamwal, a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu, has been arrested and questioned. He reportedly revealed that he had been planning to eliminate the former Chief Minister for 20 years.

The incident has exposed several fault lines. Questions abound, but answers remain few. While the sequence of events surrounding the incident is gradually becoming clear, the reasons behind it remain a mystery. That mystery could play out on the political stage in Jammu and Kashmir, where assassinations are not uncommon, but this attempt was as significant as the stature of the leader targeted. By all standards, Farooq Abdullah remains the tallest political leader in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt—foiled by the alert security staff of Farooq Abdullah, who is covered under the Z-Plus security category—there has been widespread condemnation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was among the first to call him and enquire about his well-being. Shah also promised a thorough probe into the incident, Farooq told the media on Thursday.

Farooq Abdullah made two critical points about the assassination attempt. First, he said that all those claiming that terrorism has ended in Jammu and Kashmir need to revisit their conclusions. Second, he remarked that the atmosphere of hatred being fuelled by certain sections is detrimental to the health of society and communal harmony. While he did not directly answer whether the incident was a terror plot or something else, he appeared to link the spread of religious disharmony and hatred to the circumstances that may have made him a target for the accused, Kamal Singh Jamwal.

If the accused is to be believed, he told police that he had been planning to eliminate Farooq Abdullah for two decades. However, he reportedly failed to provide a clear explanation when asked why, except to say that he had “personal reasons”.

The incident, as captured by CCTV footage at the wedding venue, showed that Kamal Singh Jamwal, aged 63, appeared to be in an inebriated condition. He allegedly pulled out his revolver and fired a shot at Farooq Abdullah, but the security personnel quickly overpowered him. Abdullah was saved from the bullet.

Several questions have arisen in the wake of the incident. Although police have ruled out any terror angle so far, serious concerns remain about how a person carrying a loaded revolver managed to get within point-blank range of Farooq Abdullah. Was there no frisking of the guests? Why did metal detectors fail to detect the weapon?

Farooq Abdullah’s son and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah raised security concerns over the incident. Immediately after it occurred, he posted on X: “Allah is kind. My father had a very close shave. The details are sketchy at the moment but what is known is that a man with a loaded pistol was able to get within point-blank range and discharge a shot. It was only the close protection team that deflected the shot and ensured that the assassination attempt failed. There are more questions than answers at the moment, including but not limited to how someone was able to get this close to a Z+ NSG-protected former CM.”

These are valid questions, and their answers will likely emerge in the course of the investigation.

So far, several political leaders from Kashmir, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chief cleric of Kashmir, have strongly condemned the incident.

The attempt on the life of Farooq Abdullah in Jammu could open a Pandora’s box. Apart from electronic evidence and the statements of the accused to the police—some of which have gone viral on social media—there appears to be clear indication that the man intended to kill the leader. It suggests that the act was premeditated and that the accused was fully conscious of what he was attempting to do.

This assassination bid is not entirely unprecedented in Jammu and Kashmir’s political history. Most prominent leaders in the region have been targeted by terrorists at some point. Traditionally, such attacks involved ambushes on convoys, landmines, or grenade assaults. However, it is perhaps for the first time that an individual confronted a leader face-to-face and fired directly at him.

Its political dimensions have already begun to emerge. The ruling National Conference has alleged that there may be a larger conspiracy behind the attempt on their president, who remains the most recognisable face of Jammu and Kashmir across the country and abroad. Abdullah has often been praised for standing firmly against separatist and subversive elements. During the 1990s, he was targeted several times by terror groups because he was viewed as a strong pro-India voice. They saw him as a major obstacle to their ambitions of turning Jammu and Kashmir into an Islamic republic.

The issue of the assassination attempt also triggered a debate in Parliament. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that there could be a conspiracy to eliminate a leader who has consistently advocated the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. In response, Health Minister and Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha J. P. Nadda criticised attempts to politicise the incident.

Nadda condemned the attack and assured the House that the Government of India would conduct a thorough probe to uncover the truth, while also informing members that the would-be assassin had already been arrested.

The outrage over the attempt on Farooq Abdullah’s life reflects his stature as a leader. He remains a national asset for Jammu and Kashmir. Over the decades, he has interacted with almost every national leader—from Jawaharlal Nehru to the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There were times when he was consulted on nearly every major national issue concerning Jammu and Kashmir.

Initially, his political standing stemmed from being the eldest son of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Over time, however, he carved out his own place through his distinctive political style. A devout Muslim, he is equally known for visiting temples and even singing bhajans—traits that some critics have not appreciated.

The ball is now in the court of the law enforcement agencies to determine the truth: whether this was an individual act driven by personal motives or part of a larger conspiracy.