NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Saturday for a 30-minute discussion at the prime minister’s residence, officials confirmed, as quoted by news agency PTI.
During their first meeting since the April 22 terror attack, they addressed several matters, including the attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, predominantly tourists.
Further confirming the meeting, JKNC made a statment on X saying, “Honourable Chief Minister J&K Omar Abdullah called on the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and discussed various issues, including last week’s Pahalgam Terror Attack.”
Few days back, the J&K CM had made a powerful statement saying that he will not use the Pahalgam attack to push for statehood. Choking back tears in a charged assembly session earlier this week he said, “Curse be upon me if I go to Centre and push for statehood at this critical moment.”
He further said that he felt personally responsible for the safety of the tourists, saying he as CM had “invited” them to Kashmir. “I was the host of these people… It was my responsibility to send these people safely, which I was unable to do,” the CM said.
Read more: ‘Curse be upon me if I ask for statehood now,’ says J&K CM Omar Abdullah
The attack has escalated tensions with Pakistan with India suspending all in bound mail, imports or ships from Pakistan. Authorities identified five terrorists – including three Pakistani nationals – behind the massacre in Pahalgam, as per PTI reports.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, CM’s father Farooq Abdullah had met with tourists in Pahalgam asserting that Kashmir “was and will always be a part of India.”Speaking to reporters, Abdullah said the biggest message after the incident is that the tourists are “not scared.” “The people who wanted to spread fear have lost. They (terrorists) have lost. It has been proven today that we are not going to get scared. Kashmir was and will always be a part of India. People want terrorism to finish. It has been 35 years since we have seen terrorism; we want progress. We want to move forward. We will become a superpower one day,” former J&K CM said.