SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday reiterated the demand for restoration of statehood to the Union Territory, stating that the elected government in J&K must be given full responsibilities — including control over security — to effectively serve its people.
As per a report by The Indian Express, Abdullah was addressing media in Ahmedabad during a two-day visit to Gujarat aimed at reviving tourism in the region, which had suffered a blow following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 tourists, including three from Gujarat.
“This status of Union Territory should not have been given to us. In this country, we are those unfortunate people whose statehood was removed and we were made a UT. Others were upgraded from UTs to states. We are emphasising that the promise of reinstating J&K’s statehood must be fulfilled,” Abdullah said.
He also underscored the importance of restoring security responsibilities to the J&K administration. “All the responsibilities should be ours. I’ve always maintained that the control of security should be handed over to us… And we are not ‘nalayak log’ (incompetent people). Just look at the six years I served as Chief Minister — militancy declined, casualties decreased. We improved things. Give us another chance, and we’ll do even better.”
Abdullah was responding to questions about both the demand for statehood and the state of tourism in the Valley post the Pahalgam attack. He acknowledged that the incident had adversely impacted tourism, but said things were gradually improving.
“The Pahalgam attack did have an impact — nobody can deny that. It happened just as the peak season was beginning, and the state got empty overnight. Before the attack, Srinagar witnessed 50–55 flights daily; after it, arrivals dropped to 15–16. Now, it’s back to 30–35. We hope it picks up further after the Amarnath Yatra,” Abdullah noted.
He pushed back against the perception that tourism had come to a complete standstill. “Don’t be mistaken. The Amarnath Yatra is on, and 3.75 lakh people have already visited. Tourists are coming. We want that number to grow… Tourists are staying in our hotels even today.”
Addressing security concerns linked to recent encounters with militants, Abdullah said these incidents took place in remote mountainous areas, far from tourist zones.
“These terrorists weren’t killed in Srinagar, Pahalgam, Sonamarg or Gulmarg. They were eliminated high up in the mountains, in jungles. So their presence has no bearing on the safety of our tourist areas,” he explained.
Earlier in the day, Abdullah inaugurated the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar. He was accompanied by Gujarat’s Tourism Minister Mulubhai Bera.
He later travelled to the Narmada district to visit the Statue of Unity and paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Speaking at the Sardar Sarovar Dam, Abdullah praised the transformative impact of the irrigation project and lamented Kashmir’s inability to conceive similar ventures.
“You can imagine what this dam has done — bringing water to Kutch and previously drought-hit regions. It has transformed barren lands into fertile farms,” he said. “It is our misfortune that we can’t plan such projects in Kashmir because we’re not allowed to stop the flow of water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been suspended, maybe it’s time Kashmir also sees such a project in its fate — one that addresses our electricity and drinking water shortages.”
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
