In Gujarat, Omar Bats for Statehood, Security Autonomy; PM Welcomes ‘Kashmir to Kevadia’ Message of Unity

SRINAGAR: On a two-day outreach to Gujarat to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reignited the demand for restoration of statehood to the Union Territory. He pressed for full administrative responsibility, especially over security, to be handed back to the elected government.

In a candid media interaction in Ahmedabad, Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir should not have been reduced to Union Territory status, contrasting its political trajectory with that of other UTs that have been granted 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.

Reiterating the promise made by the Centre after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, Abdullah urged the government to honour its commitment. “We are emphasising that the promise of reinstating statehood to Jammu and Kashmir should be fulfilled,” he said, adding that the elected government must also be given charge of security matters.

“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 asserted.

The visit, part of a tourism promotion effort in the wake of the devastating Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 that killed 26 tourists, including three from Gujarat, was marked by high symbolism. Abdullah inaugurated the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar and later visited the Statue of Unity and the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district.

Abdullah described the dam as a transformative project for Gujarat and lamented that Kashmir has not been able to conceive such developmental infrastructure due to restrictions on controlling river 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.

“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,” he added.

His comments were welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who lauded Abdullah’s visit to Gujarat as a gesture of national integration. “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.

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 to SoU gives an important message of unity and will inspire our fellow Indians to travel to different parts of India. @OmarAbdullah https://t.co/MPFL3Us4ak pic.twitter.com/bLfjhC3024

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 31, 2025

Earlier, Abdullah had shared photos of his morning run at the Sabarmati Riverfront promenade, calling it “one of the nicest places” for a jog, and noting the “amazing Atal Foot Bridge” he passed on the route.

While in #Ahmedabad for a tourism event I took advantage of being here to get my morning run at the famed Sabarmati River Front promenade. It’s one of the nicest places I’ve been able to run & it was a pleasure to get to share it with so many other walkers/runners. I even managed… pic.twitter.com/q9GbLcnDgz

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 31, 2025

On the tourism front, Abdullah acknowledged that the Pahalgam attack did impact Jammu and Kashmir’s travel sector, with flight arrivals to Srinagar dipping from 50–55 daily to just 15–16 after April 22. “Now it has picked up to 30–35 flights. We hope that after the Amarnathji Yatra, it will further improve,” he said.

But he pushed back against any impression that Kashmir was devoid of visitors. “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,” he said.

Addressing recent encounters in remote mountain regions, Abdullah clarified that these were not near tourist areas and did not pose a threat to visitor safety. “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.