“This Is Terrorism, Nothing Else” – How Asaduddin Owaisi Drew the Line on Umar Un Nabi’s Video and Put Amit Shah on Notice

An 80-second video recovered from the shattered phone of Dr Umar Un Nabi – the 32-year-old doctor who killed 13 innocent people near the Red Fort – has become the most chilling evidence of radicalisation in recent memory. Speaking in flawless English, Umar calmly justifies suicide bombing as “istishhadi” not suicide, but martyrdom – because the attacker “presumes certain death at a chosen time and place”.

On Tuesday, Asaduddin Owaisi delivered what many are calling the clearest, most unambiguous condemnation from any Muslim political leader in years.

A Statement Without Caveats

“Suicide is haram in Islam. The killing of innocent people is one of the gravest sins. Such acts are also against the law of the land. They are not ‘misunderstood’ in any way. This is terrorism and nothing else.”

No mention of Kashmir’s political situation. No “but root causes”. No attempt to humanise the bomber.

Just a full, uncompromising rejection.

The Direct Hit at Amit Shah

Owaisi didn’t stop at condemnation. He went straight for the jugular of the government’s narrative. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly claimed – after Operations Sindoor and Mahadev – that not a single local Kashmiri youth had joined terror ranks in the last six months.

Owaisi asked the question everyone else was whispering: “If no local Kashmiri joined terror groups, then where did this fully trained Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide module suddenly appear from? Who radicalised these doctors? Who is responsible for the intelligence failure that allowed a bomber to reach the heart of Delhi?”

These are not rhetorical questions. They go to the core of national security credibility.

How the Video Was Found

The clip was extracted through advanced forensics after Umar’s phone was damaged in the blast. NIA accessed it via his brother Zahoor Illahi, who was driving the explosive-laden car. Though shattered, cyber experts recovered the video where Umar speaks directly to camera – clearly intended as a posthumous message.

Investigators describe him as the most radicalised member of the “white-collar” JeM cell. He had tried to convince another arrested doctor, Jasir Bilal alias Danish, to become a suicide bomber too. At the time of the blast, Umar was using two phones – one for normal life, one for handlers. The hunt for additional SIMs and the video’s recording location continues.

The New Face of Terror

This wasn’t a poor, illiterate youth from a remote village. This was a doctor who taught at a university, moved freely across India, and spoke better English than most urban professionals. This is the terrifying evolution of terror – educated, articulate, and invisible until it’s too late.

Why This Statement Matters More Than Any Other

In the past, responses from some Muslim leaders to terror incidents have often included political grievances, calls for “understanding context”, or silence. Owaisi chose none of that.

By declaring the act haram and terrorism without any rider, he denied Umar Un Nabi the religious legitimacy he desperately sought. He refused to let the bomber hide behind faith. And by directly questioning the Home Minister, he forced the government to confront its own claims.

This is leadership that refuses to play to galleries – left, right, or religious.

The Questions the Nation Now Asks

1. If local recruitment really stopped, how did an entire suicide module operate undetected?
2. How deep does online radicalisation go when even doctors are turning into bombers?
3. Will more leaders – across communities – show the same moral courage Owaisi displayed?

A Line That Must Not Be Crossed

Asaduddin Owaisi has drawn a line in the sand: Terrorism has no justification. Killing innocents has no religion. And no political grievance can ever sanctify murder.

The nation now watches who stands on which side of that line.

Because in the fight against terror, silence is complicity. And Owaisi just refused to be silent.