Ruling National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said he is hopeful the Centre will respect the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and restore its statehood.
The three-time former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was in Pahalgam as a guest of honour at a golf tournament in which around 50 golfers from across the country are participating.
Asked if he was hopeful of restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, Abdullah told PTI Videos, “God willing, that will also happen one day. We are hopeful that Delhi will pay attention to it. The prime minister will see to it that the people of Jammu and Kashmir want statehood to be restored”.
To a question on whether controversies like Hazratbal or Doda divert attention from real issues, the NC president said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been living in difficult times since 1947, and “this is not something new”.
“However, we have to come out of that… nothing is static, things move. God willing, the situation has improved here, and I am hopeful that the leadership of our country will understand this and try to further improve the situation by paying attention towards the aspirations of the people here,” he added.
On September 5, a controversy erupted in Kashmir after a plaque bearing the Ashoka emblem was vandalised in the Hazratbal shrine after Friday prayers, sparking outrage from political parties who accused Waqf Board chairperson Darakshan Andrabi of hurting religious sentiments by placing the national emblem in a mosque and demanded registration of a criminal case and her immediate removal.
Meanwhile, in Jammu’s Doda district, tensions flared after MLA Mehraj Malik — who won the seat in the 2024 assembly elections — was arrested under the PSA for allegedly disturbing public order and subsequently lodged in Kathua district jail.
Referring to the April 22 terror attack in Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed, Abdullah said the incident dealt a severe blow to tourism in the Kashmir valley.
“Tourism is essential for sustaining the economy of Kashmir. Be it poor or rich, everyone benefits from tourism. It (tourism) remains shut for six months, so they earn for six months and sustain that in the winters,” he said.
Asserting that the people of Kashmir were not behind the attack, he said the whole of the valley stood united against the attack.
He said the golf tournament will send a message across the country that Kashmir was safe and the situation had improved.
“It is our endeavour to end fear among the people of the country after the April 22 (attack). It is our friends who have organised the tournament so that a message goes out across the country that the situation is good now and everyone should come here to enjoy the hospitality,” he added.