As uncertainty crept over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, many politicians including former chief minister Omar Abdullah couldn’t stop himself from displaying his consternation on social media and expressing his helplessness in not being privy to the developments happening in the Valley. Regarding the looming ambivalence in the state, Omar Abdullah apparently had a ‘secret chat’ with a journalist on Twitter that he later claimed got leaked in the social media.
Had an exchange with a journalist which was expressly off the record. The exchange took place over twitter direct messages. 36 hours later the conversation was sent back to me as a screen shot of our chat. So much for respecting journalistic practices.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 3, 2019
In a series of tweets posted by the National Conference chief, Omar rued about having a chat with a journalist on Twitter DM that was ‘expressly off the record’. Questioning the person in concern’s journalistic ethics, Abdullah mentioned that within 36 hours of his conversation, he received screenshots of his chat with the said journalist.
The conversation was a pretty innocuous one but that’s not the point. If you can’t respect a confidence don’t expect any contact or access what so ever. Now go explain that to the organisation you work for.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 3, 2019
Abdullah alleges that when he confronted about the screenshots doing the rounds on the internet, the journalist laid the blame on Twitter for ‘taking a screenshot of the chat and then broadcasting it’.
When I confronted the person with the screen shot the reply I got was “twitter must have done this & circulated it”. Yup, I’m an idiot & will certainly believe Twitter released a screen shot of the conversation.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 3, 2019
Omar further mentioned that though the conversation was harmless in nature, such instances erode the trust between the two parties and abuse the confidence one has placed in the journalist.
Earlier yesterday, Omar had also tweeted how he has been incapable of securing answers to his many questions. Omar seemed dismayed that despite him being a chief minister for 6 years and being in contact with important people in the Jammu and Kashmir administration, he is still devoid of the answers to his questions.
I have so many questions & not a single answer. I’ve met people today who occupy important positions to do with J&K, not one of them was able to tell me anything and I’ve been CM for 6 years. Imagine the plight of your everyday Kashmiri who doesn’t know what to believe.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 2, 2019
Yesterday, the government issued an advisory to the Amarnath Yatris and other tourists to stall their stay in the Valley and return back to their homes as soon as possible. The government had claimed that the intel inputs suggesting the heightened possibility of terror attacks on tourists being the reason for issuance of such an advisory. Before that, 38000 paramilitary troopers were rushed to the Valley, setting a wave of uncertainty in the state.
