Omar Slams Sudden, Unjustified Crackdown On Rohingyas

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday criticised what he described as a “sudden and unjustified” crackdown on Rohingya refugees in Jammu and its adjoining areas, saying the community was being “targeted for no reason” despite having lived in the region for years with UNHCR registration and humanitarian protection. 

Abdullah said those who entered India illegally from Bangladesh should face legal consequences, but argued that Rohingyas who fled persecution in Myanmar had



been allowed to stay in J&K on humanitarian grounds.

Data recently presented by local authorities to a Centre-appointed committee showed that 7,656 Rohingya refugees were living across J&K, including 6,737 in Jammu and 919 in the Kashmir Valley. 

“Those who entered from Bangladesh without permission — that is a separate issue. But the Rohingyas are being singled out without cause. They were driven out of their country, and we gave them shelter,” Abdullah said.