Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed his gratitude to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for its continued support to the people of the Union Territory and called for greater cultural and tourism exchanges between South India and Kashmir.
Speaking at an event organised by The Good Deeds Club in Chennai, Omar Abdullah stressed the need to strengthen ties between the southern states and Jammu and Kashmir.
“The only thing I will say is that we don’t get enough visitors from Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir,” the Chief Minister said, urging more people from the region to explore the Valley.
Highlighting the efforts of his administration, he added, “My government has tried to improve the links and the connections between the states south of India and Jammu and Kashmir. Therefore, we hope that in the months and years ahead, we will see more film shootings from this part of the country and more people coming to Jammu and Kashmir for their holidays.”
Omar Abdullah underlined that most tourist destinations in the Valley have reopened after security reviews were conducted in the wake of Operation Sindoor. “We conducted a comprehensive security audit of all our tourist destinations. Some of them, even at this moment, are not open for tourism activity.
However, most places have reopened, and we are taking all necessary precautions,” he said.
On political developments, the J&K Chief Minister reaffirmed his party’s commitment to the INDIA bloc.
“There is no gap or difference between the National Conference and the INDIA bloc. We continue to remain a part of it. The Congress party is part of the alliance that is in government in Jammu and Kashmir, though for their own reasons, they are not participating in the government at the moment. They have said they will join the government once Statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir. Otherwise, we are very much a part of the INDIA bloc.”
Turning to the much-anticipated Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday, Omar Abdullah noted the sensitivity of cricketing ties between the two neighbours. “Our problem has always been bilateral cricket matches. I do not think we have ever had a problem with multilateral ones, being part of large tournaments. If this is a start and things can go in a positive trajectory from there, nothing like it.
Very often, sport becomes a victim to politics. And nowhere is this more true than with cricket and the subcontinent. But you can’t wish away what happens. My part of the country has been the direct victim of this — more than 35 years of trouble. And this year, we all saw what happened in Pahalgam. These are real concerns that we have. And you can’t wish them away.”(KINS)
