"It is not the Chief Ministers who can do anything. It is the people of India who must realise. It is for them to protect the people of Kashmir," Abdullah said.
He was commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to all Chief Ministers to ensure safety of Kashmiri students in their states. Modi had made the appeal yesterday at a meeting of Chief Ministers after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti raised the issue.
Modi had made the appeal against the backdrop of thrashing of six Kashmiri students of Mewar University in Rajasthan by some locals last week.
Abdullah also slammed a top police official of J&K for his certain comments about nomads against the backdrop of an assault on a nomadic family and demanded action against him.
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Inspector General of Police, Jammu, SD Singh Jamwal had said that the nomads should take proper permission from the authorities for moving their herds to avoid incidents like the recent one in which a family was assaulted by some people on the suspicion that they were ferrying cows for slaughter.
"Permits were never issued," the former Chief Minister told reporters here.
The statement of the police officer came after an attack on a nomad family in Reasi area of Jammu allegedly by cow vigilantes.
"They (nomads) should have permission from the concerned deputy commissioner and they should move during the daytime so that there is security and people will know that they are moving in legalized manner," Jamwal said while commenting on the Reasi attack.
Demanding action against the official, Abdullah emphasised that police have to protect the people rather than blame them.
"Had I been the Chief Minister, I would have sacked him (IGP) for his statement," he said.