Gunshot at a wedding: Farooq Abdullah survives assassination bid

Veteran Jammu and Kashmir politician Farooq Abdullah narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on Wednesday night when a gunman fired at him during a wedding function in Jammu, triggering alarm over a major security lapse around one of the country’s most protected politicians. 

The 88-year-old National Conference president was attending a marriage ceremony in the upscale Greater Kailash area of Jammu when a man armed with a pistol managed to get within close range and fire a shot. The bullet missed its target after members of Abdullah’s close-protection team intervened, preventing what authorities say could have been a deadly attack. 

The alleged assailant, identified by police as Kamal Singh Jamwal, was immediately overpowered at the scene and taken into custody. A pistol was recovered from him, and investigators are now trying to determine the motive behind the attack. 

In police custody, Jamwal, 62, who is a relative of the family hosting Abdullah, said that he had been waiting “20 years” for the opportunity to attack Abdullah and described the act as driven by a “personal agenda.” Some reports also suggested he may have been intoxicated at the time of the shooting. 

The incident occurred while Abdullah was accompanied by several political figures, including Jammu and Kashmir’s deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary. No one was injured in the firing, but the episode caused panic among guests at the event. 

Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Farooq Abdullah’s son, described the episode as an assassination attempt and questioned how the attacker managed to approach so closely despite his father’s Z-plus security cover. He said the family had had “a very close shave” and called for a thorough investigation into the security breach. 

Police have registered a case and begun a probe, focusing both on the attacker’s background and the apparent failure of security protocols at the event.