Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) could have taken to the streets demanding reintegration with Jammu and Kashmir if the Centre had not abrogated Article 370 and removed the region’s special status and statehood in 2019.
Speaking at the Independence Day function in Srinagar, Abdullah said the situation across the Line of Control had strengthened his belief that the decision taken by Kashmiris in 1947 to join India was the right one.
“When I see the situation today across the border and across the LoC, I realise that the decision taken by our leaders 80 years ago for us was the right decision,” Abdullah said.
He added, “Perhaps if our situation had not changed in 2019, the people of that part of Jammu and Kashmir would be protesting to rejoin us today.”
Omar recalls 1947 fight against tribal raiders
Abdullah paid tribute to his grandfather and National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, recalling the role played by Kashmiris in resisting tribal raiders from Pakistan in 1947.
“Before the Indian Army reached here, it was the people of Jammu and Kashmir who fought the tribal invaders, who fought the infiltrators sent from across, who fought the soldiers sent from across,” he said.
Recalling the National Conference slogan “Hamalawar Khabardar, Ham Kashmiri Hain Tayyar” (Attackers beware, we Kashmiris are ready), Omar said the slogan had echoed across Kashmir during the conflict.
“Those who had weapons used them. Those who did not have weapons showed fake guns and fought the intruders. In thousands, brave people sacrificed their lives,” he said.
He also remembered Master Abdul Aziz, a National Conference leader who was killed in Muzaffarabad while resisting the tribal attackers.
‘We consider those people our own’
Omar said he was saddened by the situation in PoK and stressed that his government continued to regard people living there as part of the wider Jammu and Kashmir community.
“That part of Jammu and Kashmir is ours. We consider those people as our own. No one is a stranger. No one is an outsider,” he said.
He also referred to seats reserved in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for representatives from the Pakistan-administered part of the region.
“Even today, as per the law of Jammu and Kashmir, seats are reserved for them in the Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, with the hope that one day those people will be able to use these vacant seats,” Abdullah said.
Omar reiterates demand for restoration of statehood
The J&K chief minister also renewed his demand for the restoration of statehood and other constitutional guarantees that were removed following the Centre’s August 2019 decisions.
“Our government is committed to struggle for the restoration of statehood and constitutional guarantees, and to put Jammu and Kashmir on the path of development,” Abdullah said.
He argued that restoring J&K’s statehood should be part of a broader effort to strengthen federalism in India.
“When the powers of the state are eroded, federalism suffers,” he said, adding that strengthening federalism should mean protecting the powers of all states.
Abdullah questions NEET and JEE system
Abdullah also criticised the growing role of centralised examinations such as NEET and JEE, arguing that they had reduced the role of states in education.
“Under our federal structure, both education and health were the responsibility of the states. But the examination pattern was changed,” he said.
He said national-level examinations were justified for institutions such as IITs and IIMs but argued that state institutions should retain greater control over admissions.
“A national examination is absolutely justified for national institutions,” Abdullah said. “But the institutions of the state, which are the educational institutions of the state, should be given their right to conduct exams and grant admissions there.”
BJP calls Omar’s PoK remark ‘irresponsible’
The BJP criticised Abdullah’s remarks, accusing him of using Independence Day for political purposes.
J&K BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sunil Sharma called the statement “irresponsible”.
“He is indulging in politics on this national day when we should celebrate our flag,” Sharma said.
He added that Abdullah should have used the occasion to speak about his government’s performance and future plans instead of making political remarks.
