SRINAGAR: Even as he himself heads the elected government in illegally occupied Indian Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has admitted that claims of “normalcy” cannot be sustained while major tourist destinations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam remain closed on security pretexts beyond the control of his administration.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters at Gulmarg after inaugurating a development project, Omar Abdullah termed the continued closure of prominent tourist resorts a “failure” and said it was contradictory to project normalcy in the territory while restricting access to its key tourism hubs. He pointed out that half of Gulmarg and Pahalgam remains shut despite official assertions that the situation in the occupied territory has returned to normal.
Omar Abdullah candidly acknowledged that the decision to close or reopen tourist destinations does not lie with the elected government. He said his administration is neither consulted nor empowered to make such decisions, underscoring the limited authority of the local government under New Delhi’s tight control of the occupied territory.
“Had it been within my authority, these destinations would have been reopened,” Omar Abdullah said, adding that the elected government is confined largely to infrastructure development, while critical decisions impacting daily life and the economy are taken by New Delhi-controlled administratin led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The Chief Minister questioned how long tourist destinations could be kept closed, saying that such measures directly undermine the tourism-dependent economy of Kashmir. He acknowledged that the continued restrictions on access to resorts negate the normalcy claims.
Over 200 Kashmiris arrested in massive Valleywide crackdown
In yet another sweeping crackdown operation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian police, supported by Indian paramilitary forces, have detained around 200 Kashmiri youth, labelling them as over-ground workers, across the Kashmir Valley.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the large-scale operation, launched on Saturday, continued on Sunday morning at multiple locations, including Srinagar city and other parts of the Valley. During coordinated raids targeting what the authorities described as an “OGW network,” around 200 youth were arrested in the name of questioning. The term OGWs has been coined by the Indian military establishment to justify the arrest of ordinary Kashmiris.
APHC pays tribute to Sofi Muhammad Akbar on 38th death anniversary
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has paid glowing tributes to noted Hurriyat leader and founding member of Jammu and Kashmir Mahaz-e-Azadi, Sofi Muhammad Akbar, on his 38th death anniversary in Sopore.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sofi Muhammad Akbar passed away on this day in 1987 at his hometown, Sopore, in illegally occupied Indian Jammu and Kashmir.
The APHC spokesman, Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said that Sofi Akbar was a selfless leader who remained committed, till his death, to the cause of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination promised to them by the United Nations for the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir.
