J&K CM Omar Abdullah chairs special cabinet meeting with message in Pahalgam

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday held a special cabinet meeting in Pahalgam, which was shaken by the April 22 terror attack, to give a clear message that the government will not be “intimidated by cowardly acts of terror”.

After the meeting, the chief minister’s office posted pictures of the meeting held at the Pahalgam club on X.

“Chaired a cabinet meeting at Pahalgam today. It was not just a routine administrative exercise, but a clear message – we are not intimidated by cowardly acts of terror,” the chief minister’s office said in X.

“The enemies of peace will never dictate our resolve. Jammu and Kashmir stands firm, strong, and unafraid,” it said.

This is the first time the cabinet meeting took place outside the usual summer capital, Srinagar, or winter capital, Jammu, during this government’s tenure.

The choice of Pahalgam aims to show solidarity with the residents of the tourist town, which has experienced a sharp decline in tourist footfall since the terror attack that resulted in the deaths of 26 people, mostly tourists.

Officials said that the gathering’s significance lies more in its direct message to anti-national and anti-social elements that violence has no place in Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdullah, during his first stint as the chief minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009-14, had held cabinet meetings in remote areas like Gurez, Machil, Tangdhar areas of north Kashmir and Rajouri and Poonch areas of Jammu region.

The decision to hold a special cabinet meeting also comes three days after Abdullah on Saturday proposed a dual approach to resuscitate the Jammu and Kashmir tourism sector, severely impacted by the Pahalgam terror attack, urging the Centre to mandate PSUs to hold meetings in Kashmir and to convene parliamentary committee meetings there.

He had made this appeal at the governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The chief minister believes that these concerted efforts by the government will significantly alleviate public fears, foster a renewed sense of security and trust, and ultimately pave the way for the revival of tourism in the Kashmir Valley, bringing much-needed economic relief and a return to normalcy.

The Jammu and Kashmir government had held a special day-long assembly session in Jammu on April 28 and unanimously passed a resolution against the Pahalgam terrorist attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.