Goa, Aug. 14 -- Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has asserted that the restoration of statehood should not be linked to terror incidents in the region. Reacting to the Supreme Court's hearing on a plea demanding statehood, Abdullah said that militancy has persisted in J&K regardless of its political status, and that the root cause lies in India's troubled relations with its neighbours, from where terrorism originates.

Abdullah recalled that during his tenure as Chief Minister, several terror attacks took place even when J&K enjoyed statehood, but his government managed to tackle them. He stressed that denying people their rights cannot be justified by citing security concerns and expressed hope that the Supreme Cou...