September 27, 2002	Friday	Rajab 19, 1423

KULGAM, Sept 26: No one wants to listen to occupied Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah any more.

The flamboyant 66-year-old leader, whose rallies once drew thousands of people, faced deserted streets and shuttered shops on Thursday as he hit the campaign trail for assembly polls.

“This is the way we welcome him,” said Ghulam Rasool, a tea-vendor pointing to closed shops and silent streets in Kulgam where Abdullah was scheduled to pass through. “We are on strike, it’s a people’s strike.”

Abdullah, scion of a powerful Kashmiri family that has dominated state politics for nearly 30 years, rode to power in 1996 on a wave of hope and with a promise to end bloodshed in one of the world’s most beautiful regions.

But today the chief minister struggles against deep unpopularity among the Kashmiris.

There were few people to greet Abdullah on Thursday as he walked into a public meeting, accompanied by a phalanx of commandos, in Dhumal Hanjipora, some 90kms south of Srinagar.

“We will come back after some time,” he said and told a group of women party supporters to stop singing welcome songs.

An hour later, Abdullah returned to the rally after 300-400 people had arrived. He congratulated them for their courage.

“People are not coming because of pressure from terrorist groups that are being sent from Pakistan,” he told the crowd. “You have come here even though they are spreading terror, this is your test, and it is our test.”

Local newspapers say Abdullah’s public meetings have been attended mostly by party workers and security men since the election campaign began.

CHORUS OF COMPLAINTS: Across held Kashmir, the common complaint is he has failed to deliver jobs, roads, drinking water and schools.

“He is a hated man, he had an opportunity in 1996 which he wasted away,” said Izhar Nabi Dar, a university student.

Instead, an international golf course built in Srinagar by Abdullah, a keen golfer, has become an object of ridicule.

“He is trying to save his face, by projecting his son now. In the eyes of the people he is completely discredited,” said Dar.

Officials say Farooq still remains high on the hit list of militants who have vowed to derail the election.—Reuters