On April 22 afternoon, 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by a group of armed terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town. The attack happened in Baisaran, about six kilometres from the resort town of Pahalgam.
Addressing a special session of the Assembly, Omar said, “Neither of us supports this attack. This attack has hollowed us. We are trying to find a ray of light in this…In the last 26 years, I have never seen people come out to protest against an attack like this…”
Omar is also the tourism minister of J&K. He admitted his failure to send tourists safely back home. “An attack of such a large scale has been carried out after 21 years in Baisaran… 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 that he won’t demand statehood for Jammu and Kashmir at the cost of 26 lives. “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? (Is my governance so cheap?) 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,” he said.
The Assembly passed a resolution condemning the Pahalgam attack. The resolution was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary during a special session of the Assembly which began with the members observing a two-minute silence to pay homage to those killed in the tragedy last week.
“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,” the resolution stated.
The deputy chief minister said, “This House expresses its profound shock and anguish over the barbaric and inhumane attack perpetrated on innocent civilians at Pahalgam on April 22.” This House unequivocally condemns the heinous, cowardly act that resulted in the loss of innocent lives, he said.
