SRINAGAR: In a candid reflection on the spiralling fallout of the Pahalgam massacre, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said the massacre has “undone years of work” in both economic recovery and diplomatic normalisation, forcing Kashmir once again onto the international stage.
Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, Abdullah lamented that the April 22 attack, in which 26 people were gunned down at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam after religious profiling, has jolted the Valley out of a hard-won stretch of peace and economic revival.
“We are in a place where we didn’t expect to be,” he said. “We are in a place where there has been bloodshed, suffering. Turmoil. Upheaval… Everything has changed. And yet in some ways, nothing has.”
“At this time of the year, we should have been full with tourists, booming economy, children should have been at school, airports should have been functioning with 50-60 flights a day,” he said. “But now, the Valley is empty, schools had to be closed, the airport and airspace are shut.”
The killings, 25 of them tourists and one a local ponywallah who tried to protect them, marked the worst targeting of civilians in the region in over a decade. Abdullah said that beyond the humanitarian tragedy, the incident has allowed Pakistan to once again internationalise the Kashmir issue, a strategic move that India had managed to resist through years of careful diplomacy.
“Pakistan has, by design, unfortunately again managed to internationalise the question of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. “The US, which seems to be keen to inject itself in the role of a moderator, interlocutor, has taken note. That’s a significant shift.”
Within days of the massacre, India launched Operation Sindoor, a massive retaliatory strike on nine locations across Pakistan. Islamabad responded with drone and missile attacks and cross-border artillery fire. But the situation tilted decisively after India targeted strategic Pakistani military infrastructure, including airbases and command centres, forcing a de-escalation.
“Until a few days ago, the ceasefire had held in spite of all the other difficulties in Indo-Pak relations,” Abdullah noted. “Today, that ceasefire is in tatters. We await to see what happens tonight.”
As diplomatic channels scramble and border tensions linger, Abdullah’s remarks highlight a deeper loss — that of the psychological space for peace in Kashmir.
“Just three weeks ago, it was a bustling place. Baisaran was full of tourists. And then, that horrible massacre,” he said.
