National Conference leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for not holding talks with Pakistan and said India may meet the "same fate as Gaza and Palestine." Abdullah referred to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement on India-Pakistan relations that "we can change our friends but not our neighbours".

"Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said that we can change our friends but not our neighbours. If we remain friendly with our neighbours, both will progress. PM Modi also said that war is not an option now and the matters should be resolved through dialogue," news agency ANI quoted Abdullah as saying.

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"Where is the dialogue? Nawaz Sharif is about to become the PM (of Pakistan) & they are saying that we are ready to talk (with India), but what is the reason why we are not ready to talk? If we do not find a solution through dialogue, we will meet the same fate as Gaza and Palestine, which are being bombed by Israel..." he added.

Reacting to the veteran leader's remarks, Senior BJP leader Dr Hina Shafi Bhat said it is regrettable that a senior leader from Jammu and Kashmir is still talking about talks with Pakistan. "Farooq saab should learn now, this regime is not going to bow down before Pakistan. We tried, they have backstabbed us again and again," Bhat said as quoted by NDTV. 

The statement from Farooq Abdullah comes against the backdrop of a series of incidents that are coming from the Union Territory over the past few days. On Thursday, the heavily armed terrorists ambushed two Army vehicles at a blind curve at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz under the jurisdiction of the Surankote police station.

The search operation to track down the terrorists behind the ambush that left five soldiers dead in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch last week continues for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to visit ground zero on Wednesday with senior Army and civilian officials keeping an eye on the situation in Poonch, news agency PTI reported citing sources.

On Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir government announced that the relatives of the deceased civilians will receive compensation and jobs. It also added that the medico-legal formalities were conducted and legal action on the matter has been initiated.