SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the impact of the abrogation of Article 370 had not healed even seven years after the August 5, 2019 decisions, and reiterated that his government remained committed to addressing what he described as injustices suffered by the people of the Union Territory.
Abdullah made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a visit to areas of Poonch affected by a cloudburst. He said relief and rehabilitation of affected families, along with reconstruction and restoration of damaged infrastructure, would be the administration’s immediate priorities.
Referring to the events of August 5, 2019, Abdullah said the “wounds” caused by the abrogation of Article 370 were still present and that the people had expected the restoration of statehood as a measure of relief.
“The wounds of the abrogation are still there. Our wounds have not healed. Instead, we had hoped that at least some balm would be applied to those wounds and that the promise of restoring statehood would be fulfilled,” he said.
Abdullah noted that seven years had passed since the constitutional changes, saying the commitment to restore statehood remained unfulfilled.
“Today, as you yourself said, it is the seventh year. Everything happened on August 5, 2019. Today is August 5, 2026. Seven years have passed. Even the promise made to us remains unfulfilled. Other issues are a different matter,” he said.
The Chief Minister also referred to the resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, saying the government remained firm on its position.
“As we said while passing the resolution in the Assembly, we remain firm in our position. The injustices done to us will be corrected,” Abdullah said.
