Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently condemned the Pahalgam attack on Monday and said that for the first time in 26 years he was united people in the region against violence and “not in my name”.
Addressing a special session in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly today, Abdullah said, “I never saw that people came out to oppose such attack … People did not say in my name.”
Abdullah further said that he did not know how he would apologize to the families of the victims of the attack, as he was unable to send them home safely.
“This incident affected the whole country. We have seen many such attacks in the past … Baisaran has been attacked on such a large scale after 21 years. I did not know how to apologize to the families of the deceased … As a host, it is my duty to look for an apology. He asked what was our mistake;
Condemning the attack strongly, Abdullah interrogated those responsible people, saying, “Whoever says that they have done this for us, but I want to ask: Do we approve it? Did we ask them to do so? We are not completely with this attack.”
He further emphasized the need for unity to end violence and terrorism. “In every bad situation, we should look for a ray of hope, but it is very difficult to find such light in these times … But for the first time in 26 years, I have seen the people of Jammu and Kashmir condemning the attack, saying that it has not been done in my name.
Accepting the role of security measures, Abdullah said that extremism can only be defeated when people unite against it. “We can control extremism through guns, but it will not eliminate it … it will end when people come together, and it seems that people are coming together against it.”
He further confirmed that he would not demand a state for Jammu and Kashmir in the name of 26 people, who was killed in a terrorist attack, given that his politics was not “so cheap”.
However, he said that he will still demand the state for the region, but not at this moment when the country still mourns the loss of 26 people.
“I will not use this moment to demand the state. After Pahgam, with which face can I ask for the state for Jammu and Kashmir?
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed a resolution condemning the Pahalgam terror attack, after which the assembly proceedings were postponed.
Surinder Chaudhary, vice -president of Jammu and Kashmir, made a proposal to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack and in the security meeting supported the diplomatic measures announced by the Union Government after the Cabinet Committee.
The resolution emphasized the attack as an attack on the “KashmiriT”, the Constitution, and the values of unity, peace and harmony in Jammu and Kashmir and expressed complete solidarity with the victims and their families, expressing condolences to the affected people.
The attack in Pahgam is one of the most deadly attacks in the valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike, killing 40 CRPF personnel. After the Pahalgam terror attack, India has taken strong measures against Pakistan to support cross-limit terrorism. (AI)