Senior People’s Democratic Party leader Naeem Akhtar on Monday criticised National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for advising separatists in Jammu and Kashmir not to hold talks with the Centre. In an interview with Greater Kashmir on Sunday, Abdullah asked leaders of the Hurriyat Conference not to “fall into the trap” of holding talks with the Centre, as they would get “nothing” in return.

“Don’t fall in the trap,” the former chief minister warned separatists. “They didn’t give us autonomy, which was passed by the state Assembly and is within the ambit of the Constitution. What will they offer to you?” Abdullah claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government was not sincere in its intentions.

Akhtar, a state minister, said the politics of the National Conference has thrived on turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir. “The party is convinced that it can survive only by being part of the problem rather than the solution, for which post-2002 [Assembly elections] the entire mainstream has been campaigning in the state,” he said, according to a statement released by the party. “Abdullah will not like a permanent and dignified solution to our problems as his party has always thrived on confusion, somersault and U-turns which have landed the state in a crisis affecting many generations.”

He claimed that when IK Gujral was the prime minister, Abdullah had threatened to revolt against India if the Centre opened peace talks with the Hurriyat. Akhtar also alleged that Abdullah defied the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government’s unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir in 2000.

“He brings out the ghost of autonomy every time he is fighting elections, to ensure that peace doesn’t return to the land that has been a victim of his family politics since 1931,” Akhtar said.

The PDP leader claimed the National Conference believed it had a “divine right to decide the destiny” of Jammu and Kashmir. “Nothing can be farther from reality,” Akhtar said. “Dialogue and good relations between India and Pakistan is the only way to end the turmoil in Kashmir.”