Will Omar Abdullah break silence?

In the wake of the fresh militant attacks on Panchayat members in Jammu and Kashmir, over 20 Panches and Sarpanches of the Baramulla district on Sunday (January 13) tendered their resignations citing threats to their lives. As Sarpanches live in fear in the state, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's stony silence on the issue has sparked massive outrage. Suspected militants on Friday shot dead a Sarpanch, Habibullah Mir at Goripora village in Sopore town while a woman Panchayat member Zoonaa Begum was shot and injured inside her house at Hardshiva Sopore on Saturday night. Panchayat members in Kashmir have been demanding security from the state government since last year after such similar incidents.