From Kupwara to Kathua, people came out to protest: CM Omar Abdullah on Pahalgam attack

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday that for the first time, the people of the country are united, and this unity is needed to end militancy and terrorism.

Speaking on the resolution moved during the special session of the Assembly to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, CM Abdullah said, “The whole country is united in condemnation of this attack from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, although this is not the first time we have seen such attacks.”

“Baisaran has again created the environment where we are now thinking where the next attack is going to take place. I did not have the words to tell the tourists. It was my responsibility as the host that I should have send them back safely. What should I tell those children who lost their father, or a woman who lost her husband and got married a few days back?”

“Tourists asked what was their fault, they had come here for holidays. Whoever did this did not do it for us, but I want to ask, did we approve of it, did we tell them to do this, we are totally not with this attack. For the first time in 26 years, I saw people on the roads. From Kathua to Kupwara, there was no city where people didn’t come out. People came out on their own,” he said.

“Militancy, terrorism will end when people come together, and this is the start of that. We should take steps so that people support this, and they should not be against this. Through guns we can control militancy, but not stop it, but today people are with us, and this can stop terrorism,” the CM said during his address in the Assembly.

“In Masjids, two minutes’ silence was observed. I will try to take people’s sentiment along,” he said.

He referred to the local Ponywallah, Syed Adil Hussain, who clashed with the terrorists to save the tourists and was killed by the terrorists.

“For Adil, what can be said, he didn’t even think of his own life. He ran towards danger and saved the tourists. Tourists have said that the Ponywallahs saved the lives of people. They took the injured to hospitals. Local people helped everywhere. A three-wheeler wallah, taxi driver or hotel owner, everybody accommodated tourists, and I salute those people. This is our ‘Mehmannawazi (Hospitality)’ of Kashmir,” he said

Referring to the harassment being faced by the local youths in other places after the Pahalgam attack, the CM said, “Unfortunately, our students face problems outside. I thank the state governments that acted swiftly and promptly. Our ministers went to Dehradun, Mumbai, Lucknow, Shimla, etc.”

CM Omar Abdullah said that although J&K security is not the responsibility of the elected government, he will not use this to ask for statehood.

“I will not use the bodies of these 26 people to do politics,” he added.

After the discussion, the Assembly will pass the resolution against the Pahalgam attack

IANS