Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday highlighted the need for coordination between three power centers – the elected government, the Union Government, and the Lieutenant Governor’s office – to ensure security and law and order in the region post the Pahalgam terror attack.
He pointed out that the security of tourists currently resides within the powers of the Lieutenant Governor.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Abdullah said, “The fact is that security and law and order is not the responsibility of the elected government. Whose responsibility is it? The Lieutenant Governor…There are three sets of power centres that need to coordinate to ensure that things go smoothly here… I can promote tourism; I can create infrastructure for tourism… But the security of the tourists currently resides within the powers of the Lieutenant Governor and that is the point I made that the Union Government, elected government, and Raj Bhavan, we need to work together to ensure that what happened on 22nd April doesn’t happen again…”
On April 22, in a dastardly attack, terrorists killed 26 people, including one Nepali citizen, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The attack was one of the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed.
The J-K CM also praised the people of Kashmir for condemning the incident, emphasising that the condemnation came from the people themselves, without being led by politicians or religious leaders.
“…For the first time, the people of Kashmir came forward to condemn the attack… No politician, religious leader can take credit for it. The people themselves came forward…They condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack…,” he added.
CM Abdullah exhorted that his government is making efforts to restore normalcy in the region, for which the government itself has been conducting meetings here.
To restore normalcy in the region, Abdullah has directed the Education Minister to resume picnics in schools and colleges and encourage visits to popular tourist destinations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam. He also chaired meetings to discuss the situation and plan for the future.
He asserted, “Everything was stopped after April 22. Before people from all over the country comes here, we should come first here. Hence, a cabinet meeting was called in Pahalgam yesterday and today a meeting of administrative secretaries and senior department heads was held…I have directed the Education Minister to ensure that picnics are resumed in schools and colleges and visits to Gulmarg and Pahalgam are made to move towards normalcy…”
Chief Minister Abdullah also expressed his gratitude to the Trinamool Congress’ delegation or visiting Jammu and Kashmir, stating, “I am grateful that they came. They contacted us that they want to come here. I hope that their visit will become beneficial for us.” (ANI)
