Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government, under Omar Abdullah’s leadership, will hold a special cabinet meeting in Pahalgam on Tuesday, a move intended as a powerful message against terrorism and violence in the Union territory, officials said.
This is the first time the cabinet meeting will take place outside the usual summer capital, Srinagar, or winter capital, Jammu, during this government’s tenure.
The choice of Pahalgam also aims to show solidarity with the residents of the tourist town, which has experienced a sharp decline in tourist footfall since the deadly April 22 terror attack that resulted in the deaths of 26 people, mostly tourists.
Although the meeting’s agenda is not yet public, officials stressed that the gathering’s significance lies more in its symbolic communication 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 of north Kashmir and Rajouri and Poonch areas of Jammu region.
The decision to hold a special cabinet meeting comes two days after Abdullah on Saturday proposed a dual approach to resuscitate 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.
During a special day-long assembly session in Jammu on April 28, the Jammu and Kashmir government had unanimously passed a resolution against the Pahalgam attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
“The Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir reaffirms its unwavering commitment to foster an environment of peace, development, and inclusive prosperity for all its citizens, and to resolutely defeat the nefarious designs of those who seek to disturb the communal harmony and progress of the nation and of Jammu and Kashmir,” the resolution had said.
Abdullah, in his 26-minute emotional speech, had said he would not use the terror attack as an opportunity to press for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that he does not believe in “cheap politics”.
