National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday described his narrow escape from an assassination attempt as a divine intervention, saying “God saved me.” The 88-year-old former J&K chief minister was targeted during a wedding at Royal Park in Jammu’s Greater Kailash area on Wednesday night.
The assailant, Kamal Singh Jamwal, a 63-year-old resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu, approached Abdullah from behind as he exited the venue. Investigators revealed that Jamwal reached point-blank range and discharged a shot from a licensed pistol before alert security personnel overpowered him.
“I am fine. The assailant managed to get right behind my neck, but at the last minute, security, including the NSG, overpowered him. I was immediately put into my car and driven away,” Abdullah told reporters on Thursday morning.
20-year personal vendetta
Preliminary interrogation of Jamwal has revealed a chilling, long-standing obsession. Jamwal, a local businessman who lives off rental income from shops in Jammu’s old city, told officials the attack was the culmination of a two-decade-long animosity toward the NC patriarch.
“I wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years. It was my personal agenda. Today, I got the opportunity, but he was lucky to survive,” Jamwal reportedly told investigators. While police noted the accused appeared inebriated at the time of the shooting, they ruled out immediate terror links, focusing instead on a “radicalised personal grievance”. The weapon used was a .32 caliber pistol registered in Jamwal’s own name.
{{/usCountry}}“I wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years. It was my personal agenda. Today, I got the opportunity, but he was lucky to survive,” Jamwal reportedly told investigators. While police noted the accused appeared inebriated at the time of the shooting, they ruled out immediate terror links, focusing instead on a “radicalised personal grievance”. The weapon used was a .32 caliber pistol registered in Jamwal’s own name.
{{/usCountry}}‘More questions than answers’
The incident sparked a political row over the efficacy of Z+ National Security Guard (NSG) protection. Chief minister Omar Abdullah, who rushed to Jammu to meet his father, took to X to demand answers regarding the “colossal lapse”.
“There are more questions than answers at the moment, including how someone was able to get this close to a Z+ NSG-protected former CM,” Omar Abdullah said. He credited the close protection team—specifically an inspector and a sub-inspector—for noticing the movement and deflecting Jamwal’s arm just as the trigger was pulled.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have taken Jamwal into custody at the Gangyal police station. Top officials are currently reviewing security protocols for all high-profile protectees in the Union Territory, with plans to upgrade jammer technology and enforce stricter access control at private functions.