ibn sultan
Jammu:Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressed the assembly, expressing deep sorrow over the Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives. He lamented the failure to ensure the safety of tourists, acknowledging his responsibility as the host. Abdullah highlighted the unprecedented public outrage against the attack, emphasizing the collective grief and the search for hope amidst the tragedy.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that he won’t resort to cheap politics on Pahalgam, adding that it will be shameful on his part ask the central government for statehood after the death of 26 people in the recent attack.
“I will not use this moment to demand statehood. After Pahalgam, with what face can I ask for statehood for Jammu and Kashmir? Meri kya itni sasti siyasat hai? We have talked about statehood in the past and will do so in the future too, but it will be shameful on my part if I go and tell the central government that 26 people have died, now give me statehood…” said J&K CM Omar Abdullah.
“… This incident affected the entire country. We have seen many such attacks in the past… An attack of such a large scale has been carried out after 21 years in Baisaran… I did not know how to apologise to the families of the deceased… Being the host, it was my duty to send the tourists back safely. I couldn’t do it. I do not have the words to seek an apology…” said the CM.
“Neither of us supports this attack. This attack has hollowed us. We are trying to find a ray of light in this… In the last 26 years, I have never seen people come out to protest against an attack like this…” said Abdullah.
“From north to sound and from east to west… from Arunachal to Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala… the entire country has been affected by this attack. We have witnessed several attacks. We have seen attack on Amarnath Yatra camp, attacks in several villages of Doda. We have seen attacks on villages of Kashmiri Pandits, Sardars (Sikhs). However, there was time in between… this attack is Baisaran… such a big attack on civilians has happened after 21 years. We were thinking that these attacks were now part of our past,” added Abdullah.
