J&K CM Omar says escalation won’t benefit anyone, urges Pak to focus on de-escalation

Jammu: Warning Pakistan that continued escalation from across the border would only hurt them, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called Thursday’s aerial strikes on Jammu one of the “most serious assaults” on the city since the 1971 war.

He said that Pakistan should focus on de-escalation amid the ongoing military conflict in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

The chief minister lauded the armed forces for their swift response in neutralising aerial threats and ensuring that not a single drone reached its intended target.

“The way civilians have been targeted, and the kind of attacks carried out in Jammu city—I don’t think Jammu has been targeted like this since the 1971 war,” Abdullah told reporters in Vijaypur during his visit to relief camps and a hospital in Jammu and Samba districts.

He added that multiple locations in Jammu, and even an ammunition depot in Anantnag, were among the targets, but all attempts failed.

Abdullah on Thursday strongly condemned the recent wave of cross-border strikes through drones, missiles and shelling in the Jammu and Poonch districts.

Clarifying the current situation, the chief minister said, “We did not create this situation. Our people were attacked in Pahalgam, and innocent civilians were killed. We had to respond.”

He warned that continued escalation from across the border would only hurt Pakistan.

“This continuous escalation from Pakistan’s side benefits no one. Pakistan gains nothing from this, nor

will they succeed. They should silence their guns and help normalise the situation here,” he said.

He further counselled them, saying they should act wisely and focus on de-escalation rather than escalation.