Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday denounced calls advocating a Kashmir boycott in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and asked the Centre to intervene, warning that unjust targeting of Kashmiris might discourage them from speaking out against terror next time.

Omar's warning came as he stepped up his call for reopening tourist resorts, which were shut across the Valley following the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 25 tourists and a local ponywallah dead.

The chief minister on Wednesday chaired a meeting of administrative officials in Gulmarg, his second in two days at top tourist destinations, aimed at signalling to the world that Kashmir has reopened for tourists.

Facing questions on social media campaigns, including those from Right-wing groups seeking a boycott of Kashmir, Omar warned against punishing people.

"The people of Kashmir did not carry out the attack, the people of Kashmir did not drive out the tourists. This attack did not happen with our permission or for our benefit. Kashmiris spoke in one voice after April 22 and said not in our name and we are not in favour of the attack.

"After that if you punish the people of Kashmir and talk about boycotting them, then I am sorry, if God forbid we have another such attack, who will come out to condemn it? If we are held guilty even after condemning it, then what should we do?" Omar told reporters in Gulmarg.

He said the Centre should not ignore it, rather use its agencies to investigate these people and stop the boycott campaign.

On the second consecutive day, Omar iterated his call to reopen tourist destinations that were shut after the Pahalgam attack.

"Several destinations are fully shut. For example, Dudh Pathri and some other destinations are shut. At other places, destinations within destinations are closed. You can come to Gulmarg, but can't visit the outer circular road. You can come to Gulmarg and Tangmarg, but can’t go to Drung here. Similarly, you can go to Pahalgam, but the parks in Pahalgam are shut,” he said.

Omar asked Kashmiris to start visiting tourist spots themselves before expecting people from other parts of the country to come again. He said he had asked his education minister to facilitate picnics and excursions by schools and colleges so that Kashmir starts moving towards normalcy.

Omar also played down the reports of a rift with Raj Bhavan. On Tuesday, he had taken a jibe at the administration of lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, calling it the third unelected government in Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to his elected government and the central government.

"You only require a thaw if there was a freezing in relations. When have you heard me alleging a freeze? I am just stating that going ahead, we need to work together,” he said.

"Whose responsibility is security? The lieutenant governor. Clearly, there are three, sort of, power centres that need to coordinate to ensure things go smoothly here. I can promote tourism, create infrastructure for tourism. I can ensure tourists come and have a good visit, but the security of tourists currently resides in the power of the lieutenant governor."

He said this was why the Centre, the LG's administration and his government needed to work together to ensure that what happened on April 22 did not happen again.

On statehood restoration, he said the Pahalgam attack had not stalled the conversation around it. He said he had raised the issue at the recent meeting of the Niti Aayog governing council.

"No, not at all. If you were to take out the formal speech that circulated in the Niti Aayog meeting, you will find a categorical mention for return of statehood in that (statement) which was given to the Prime Minister and all the members of the governing council of the Niti Aayog," Omar said.