I believe that time has come now: J&K CM Abdullah optimistic on statehood restoration

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday expressed optimism about the restoration of statehood, saying, “I believe that time has come now.”

Asked if he had raised the issue during his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi earlier this week, Abdullah said the process of statehood restoration was underway and urgently needed to be taken to its logical conclusion.

When the Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s decision of abrogating Article 370, it made a general mention about statehood being restored “as soon as possible”, he said.

The Centre abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and reorganised the erstwhile state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in 2019.

“It was discussed as soon as possible and that was over a year ago. We feel that time has arrived now,” Abdullah said in an exclusive interview with PTI Videos.

The Chief Minister also said he had a “very good conversation” with the Home Minister. “It’s part of an ongoing conversation and I am very hopeful that statehood will be restored soon.”

Asked if the distance between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir had reduced since he took office last year, the chief minister said sometimes some incidents occurred that widened the gap, pointing to the recent killings of two individuals in north Kashmir’s Sopore and in Billawar in Jammu’s Kathua district.

“...both incidents were unfortunate and I feel that they could have been prevented. They shouldn’t have occurred in the first place and now there is a necessity that they be investigated transparently. If someone is held guilty, the law has to take its course,” Abdullah said.

In Billawar, a 26-year-old man accused of being involved in militancy allegedly committed suicide on February 4 following “police harassment”. The day after, a truck driver was killed in army firing when he allegedly refused to stop at a checkpost in Sopore in Baramulla district.

Following the two deaths, the chief minister had said that such incidents “risk alienating the very people who we need to carry with us on the road to complete normalcy”.