After Pahalgam attack, Omar Abdullah rules out cheap politics: 'Won't talk statehood now'

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday ruled out engaging in “cheap politics” by demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood after the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, 25 of them tourists, dead on April 22.

He was speaking in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly during a special session held to condemn the attack,

The special session, convened after the brutal terror attack on pilgrims in Pahalgam, passed a resolution unanimously, condemning the killings and expressing solidarity with the victims' families.

The attack has evoked widespread grief across the region.

While addressing the assembly, Omar spoke about the pain and helplessness faced by the victims and their families.

"Many of them saw their close relatives sacrificed before their eyes," he said. "From newly married couples to small children, college students, and the widows of soldiers. Tragedy struck everyone without discrimination."

He said that as the tourism minister, he had personally invited the pilgrims to visit Kashmir. "It was my responsibility to ensure they returned safely," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "There were no words left to apologise to the grieving families."

He criticised those trying to politicise the tragedy and said the assembly had rarely witnessed such deep sorrow. "Neither this Assembly nor the Parliament has fully grasped the depth of the people's pain," he said.

Listing the victims from across India — from West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, and even Nepal — Omar said the attack was an assault on India’s spirit of diversity.

"From Gujarat to Kashmir, from Kerala to Arunachal, our fellow citizens were targeted," he said. "Our civilisation itself was under attack."

Reflecting on past civilian attacks over the last two decades, he noted, "This isn’t today's story alone; it’s part of our painful history."

The Chief Minister also praised the resilience of the people and security forces and called for unity against terror threats.

"It is easy to play politics over tragedy, but it takes courage to rise above it," Omar said. "We owe it to the victims not to turn their sacrifices into slogans for political mileage."

The session ended with members across party lines standing in silence to honour the victims of the Pahalgam attack.

India