Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah feels the question on how four terrorists managed to reach Pahalgam, which is far off from the international border, and attacked the tourists should not remain unanswered.

“It is necessary to give. The answer is necessary,” Abdullah told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, in a chat that dropped on the lawyer’s YouTube channel this afternoon. “The session of the Parliament is taking place in July. I am assuming that there will be a debate on this attack. Members of Parliament will get a chance to ask the government of India.”

On April 22, 26 males, most of them tourists and another Kashmiri guide, were gunned down during one of the worst terror attacks in recent times in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, at a popular tourist spot.

PTI

India responded with precision-strikes on terror camps operating in Pak Occupied Kashmir and those inside the Pakistani territory, which led to a conflict.

India has claimed strategic victory over Pakistan in the four-day exchange of gunfire and air-raids, though some critical questions remain unanswered.

How did the four terrorists, whose sketches were released but never apprehended, managed to reach Pahalgam, which is far off from the international border? Did the US President Donald Trump force a cease-fire between India and Pakistan?

The Narendra Modi government sent seven teams to over 30 countries comprising MPs from the treasury and opposition benches, former ministers and retired diplomats, but all the while maintained silence on the demand for a special session of the Parliament.

Though Narendra Modi has not answered yet whether Trump had indeed mediated on the truce call, he made it clear India will not tolerate nuclear blackmail, in his address to the nation last month.

On Tuesday, the US state department reiterated Trump’s willingness to engage on the Kashmir dispute, stating that "each step that he takes is made to solve generational differences between countries."

Omar Abdullah also said that he feels terrorism will end only if Pakistan decides to end it.

“Terrorism will not end like this. As long as our neighbouring country does not dare to end it, we will continue to fight. But until the task of sending people from there is not stopped, this situation will continue,” Omar said.

Abdullah gave a sketch on how the terror attack in Pahalgam has dealt a blow to the booming tourism industry in the state, where Pahalgam alone had 50,000-70,000 visitors, on a daily basis.

“We had 50 flights operating every day earlier. Now tourism is over,” he said.

On April 22nd, Delhi-Srinagar flight tickets were between Rs. 18,000-Rs.22,000. Right after the attack the same ticket was available for Rs. 3,500 or Rs. 4,000.

Hotel rooms which fetched a price of Rs. 80,000 are now available for Rs. 25,000 that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner and still 30-40 rooms are vacant.

“This is our situation. Our taxi drivers are ruined, our horses are ruined, our guides are ruined, our hunters are ruined,” Omar said. “The rich can tolerate for a while. The poor, who took a loan and made their four room house a paying guest, who took a loan and upgraded their Sumo to an Innova, it is very difficult for them to tolerate this period.”

Omar said he had spoken with the centre to provide relief to the people who have suffered losses after the terror attack.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir did not attack. We are suffering from this attack. And after this attack, for the first time after an attack the people of Kashmir came by their own will. No one forced them, no one gave them money, no one threatened them. They came out of their homes and said this attack was not in our name. We are not with this attack,” said Omar, who also holds the tourism portfolio. “I was not sad because I am the chief minister of J&K and I am responsible for tourism. Our anger, our sadness is justified. Because we thought that these days are gone forever. We have seen such attacks before but it has been 20 years since. And we thought that we will not have to see this again.”

Omar said for the Indian government to win the trust of the Kashmiri people it was important for them to be heard.

“Listen to the people. Listen to their pain. People want someone to be part of their pain. We all feel sad about the 26 people who lost their lives in the Baisaran attack. But even after Operation Sindoor, 23 people lost their lives. The mention of these 23 people is very less,” he said.