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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001625 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: KASHMIR: CHIEF MINISTER OMAR ABDULLAH'S 
"CONDITIONAL" RESIGNATION 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY: During a raucous Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) 
state assembly session on July 28, Chief Minister (CM) Omar 
Abdullah resigned after an opposition party member accused 
him of involvement in a 2006 sex scandal.  Even though the 
Home Ministry issued a statement later that day exonerating 
Abdullah, he had already handed in a conditional resignation 
to J&K Governor N. N. Vohra in which he pledged to step down 
if proven guilty of the accusations.  Post expects Abdullah 
to remain as CM, but his emotional reaction combined with 
prior missteps impair his ability to focus on good governance 
and development in J&K.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ABDULLAH,S EMOTIONAL RESIGNATION, THEN RECONSIDERATION 
---- 
 
¶2.  (U)  On July 28 Deputy Leader of the Opposition Muzaffar 
Hussain Baig of the People,s Democratic Party (PDP) leveled 
allegations against J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, 
accusing him of involvement in a three-year-old call-girl 
scandal under investigation.  A visibly shaken Abdullah took 
the podium following Baig,s claims to announce that he was 
resigning from his office until these accusations were 
cleared.  High drama within the state assembly ensued, as 
members of Abdullah,s National Conference Party (NCP) 
publicly begged him to reconsider his resignation. After 
several hours of deliberation, Abdullah appeared to have been 
persuaded by his confidantes to reconsider; he instead 
presented a conditional resignation to the Governor of Jammu 
and Kashmir, pledging that he will step down from office if 
he is proven guilty of any charges by the CBI. 
 
THE SHOPIAN CASE AND MEHBOOBA,S DRAMATICS 
---- 
 
¶3.  (U) Abdullah,s conditional resignation unfolded one day 
after PDP opposition leader Mehbooba Mufti angrily threw a 
microphone after she was refused permission to discuss the 
May 29 Shopian rape and murder case on the assembly floor. 
The Shopian case had resulted in protests and some violence 
in Baramullah, Srinagar and Kupwara.  Separatists hoped to 
channel recent incidents involving the deaths of Kashmiris 
into dissatisfaction with security forces and the 
seven-month-old Omar Abdullah government.  Mufti again 
disrupted the assembly on July 29 when she angrily tore up a 
CBI letter presented on the floor by the House speaker 
Mohammed Akbar Lone, which stated that there was no link 
between Abdullah and the 2006 sex scandal. The J&K assembly 
is in scheduled recess from July 30 through August 5. 
 
BACKLASH AGAINST THE PDP 
---- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Izhar Wani, a press correspondent in Srinagar, 
told Embassy staff that Governor Vohra would announce Omar 
Abdullah was not involved in this sex scandal and Abdullah 
will continue with his duties as CM.  (NOTE:  Governor Vohra 
did announce his rejection of Abdullah's resignation on July 
¶30.  The Congress Party,s P. Chidambaram, Home Minister, 
publicly backed Abdullah on July 28, by saying his name does 
not figure in the CBI,s list of the accused. END NOTE.) 
Wani stated that Abdullah,s stature has risen amongst 
Kashmiris for defending his name against these accusations 
and that people feel that the PDP and Beig have 'played dirty 
politics.' 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Abdullah,s supporters made their feelings public 
on July 30, when, according to Wani, approximately 300 NCP 
workers took to Srinagar,s streets, shouting slogans against 
the PDP; they dispersed peacefully after marching from NCP 
headquarters to Lal Chowk, two kilometers away.  Separate 
rallies also reportedly took place in Bandipur and Anantnag. 
According to both Wani and journalist Ahmed Ali Fayez, these 
are the first demonstrations organized by mainstream party 
workers in support of an existing leader of government to 
take place in the Kashmir Valley since the insurgency period. 
 
NEW DELHI 00001625  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Tahir Mohi-u-din, Editor of the weekly Chattan 
newspaper, believes that the PDP has not reconciled its loss 
of power in J&K after the 2008 state assembly elections. 
(NOTE:  The next elections are not scheduled before 2014. END 
NOTE.)  Highlighting the NCP's privilege motion against Baig 
for leveling accusations against a fellow legislator inside 
the assembly, Mohi-u-din predicts that if the house passes 
this resolution, thereby disqualifying Baig as a member, J&K 
will see even greater confrontational politics by the PDP. 
 
ABDULLAH,S CREDIBILITY IN DOUBT? 
---- 
 
¶7.  (U)  During a television interview on July 29, Abdullah 
admitted that his father Farooq Abdullah (former CM of J&K 
and current Minister of New and Renewable Energy) chided him 
after his impulsive decision to resign on July 28. 
Newspaper editorials depict Abdullah,s hasty resignation as 
"emotional" and "dramatic," even a "breakdown," with calls 
for him to "grow up" and "square his shoulders and face 
situations."  However, Abdullah responded that his 
resignation stemmed from his desire to remain credible in the 
eyes of the Kashmiri people. 
 
COMMENT:  ABDULLAH MUST RISE ABOVE CONFRONTATIONAL POLITICS 
---- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Abdullah's late-2008 election was viewed as a 
positive generational change reflecting the beginning of 
post-insurgency politics. However, after initial positive 
reviews, Abdullah has been criticized for his inability to 
delegate and his political tin ear.  J&K seems to have 
entered a summer of discontent with public discord over 
recent high profile crimes and a PDP grasping at straws to 
weaken the new government.  As Omar Abdullah resumes his post 
as Chief Minister, he will need to resist reacting to PDP 
provocation and instead focus on the good governance and 
development pledges that got him elected.  END COMMENT. 
ROEMER