WATCH: 'Won't use Pahalgam to demand statehood, I too failed to protect guests', says Omar in hard-hitting speech

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said it would be inappropriate and politically opportunistic to use the recent Pahalgam tragedy to press for statehood.

Addresing the J&K Assembly, Abdullah said, “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….”

#PahalgamTerrorAttack | J&K CM Omar Abdullah says, "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… pic.twitter.com/kZqXSRxLmY

— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2025

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Abdullah expressed sorrow over the attack, where 26 tourists were gunned down by terrorists on April 22 and said that the entire country was affected by it.

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“We have seen many such attacks in the past, but it has been 21 years since an attack of such a large scale was carried out in Baisaran,” he said.

“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,” he added.

He said that although security was not directly under the J&K government’s purview, as both Chief Minister and Tourism Minister, it was his duty to ensure the safety of tourists — a responsibility in which he admitted he had failed.

“Militancy and terrorism will end when people will support us. This is the beginning of that,” he said.

“We should not say or show anything which harms this movement that has arisen… We can control militancy using guns, but it will end only when people support us,” he further said.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution expressing shock and anguish over the Pahalgam attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.

The resolution, moved by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary during a special session of the Assembly, was passed by voice vote.

“The Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir reaffirms its unwavering commitment to foster an environment of peace, development, and inclusive prosperity for all its citizens, and to resolutely defeat the nefarious designs of those who seek to disturb the communal harmony and progress of the nation and of Jammu and Kashmir,” PTI quoted the resolution as saying.

The Centre had assured that Jammu and Kashmir would regain its statehood following the abrogation of Article 370, which had granted the region special status, and its subsequent reorganisation into two Union Territories.

On April 22, terrorists carried out a brutal attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, killing 26 people, including a Nepali national.

Survivors reported that the terrorists questioned victims about their religious identity and executed those who either failed to recite the Kalma — an Islamic declaration of faith — or identified themselves as Hindu.

The massacre triggered global outrage and prompted swift retaliatory measures from India.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a series of significant actions, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, immediate revocation of all visas issued to Pakistani nationals, and the closure of the Attari border, among other responses.

With inputs from agencies