Srinagar: On a two-day visit to Gujarat to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called for restoring full statehood to the Union Territory and pressed for the transfer of security responsibilities back to the elected government. His outreach, coming just months after the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists, including three from Gujarat, was packed with symbolism and political assertion.
Speaking to the media in Ahmedabad on July 31, Abdullah strongly criticized Jammu and Kashmir’s current Union Territory status, contrasting it with other regions that have been upgraded to full statehood.
“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 who were given UT status. Others’ UT status was removed and they were given statehood,” he said.
Reaffirming the central government’s 2019 commitment to restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood following the abrogation of Article 370, Abdullah emphasized the need for concrete action.
“We are emphasising that the promise of reinstating statehood to Jammu and Kashmir should be fulfilled,” he said. “All the responsibilities should be ours. I have been saying from day one, give us the responsibility of security. We are not ‘nalayak log’ (incompetent people). Look at the graph from my tenure as CM, every year, militancy and casualties of security personnel came down. We made things better. Give us an opportunity again, and we’ll do even better.”
Abdullah’s visit included stops at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, where he inaugurated the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF), as well as a tour of the Statue of Unity and the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district. He called the dam a model for transformative development and noted the constraints Jammu and Kashmir faces due to the inability to regulate water flows.
“You can imagine that due to this dam, water reaches the Kutch regions, once ravaged by drought, now sustain farming. It has changed lives,” he said.
He added that with the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, new opportunities may arise for Kashmir.
“It is our misfortune that we cannot conceive such projects in Kashmir because we do not have permission to stop the flow of water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been suspended, it may be part of Jammu and Kashmir’s fate to have such a project in future, so that we don’t face electricity or drinking water shortfalls.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Abdullah’s visit and praised the symbolism of his presence in Gujarat.
“Kashmir to Kevadia! Good to see Shri Omar Abdullah Ji enjoying his run at the Sabarmati Riverfront and visiting the Statue of Unity. His visit gives an important message of unity and will inspire fellow Indians to travel to different parts of India,” Modi posted on X.
Abdullah had earlier posted images from his morning jog along the Sabarmati Riverfront, describing it as “one of the nicest places” for a run and admiring the “amazing Atal Foot Bridge.”
Addressing concerns about the impact of the April Pahalgam attack on the region’s tourism industry, Abdullah acknowledged a sharp initial dip in flight arrivals to Srinagar but said there has been steady recovery.
“Now it has picked up to 30–35 flights. We hope that after the Amarnathji Yatra, it will further improve,” he said.
He also sought to counter perceptions that tourism in Kashmir had collapsed.
“The Amarnathji Yatra is on, and around 3.75 lakh people have participated. Tourists are there. We want more people to come with trust. Even today, hotels are functioning. Vaishno Devi continues to draw lakhs. Don’t think tourism has stalled.”
On recent encounters between security forces and militants, Abdullah emphasized that such incidents occurred far from tourist areas.
“None of these terrorists were killed near Srinagar, Pahalgam, Sonmarg or Gulmarg. They were high in the mountains, in uninhabited jungles. That should not be taken as a comment on the safety of our tourism zones,” he stressed.
