Tue Jun 24 22:53:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text and a news article based on it:
**Summary:**
The article from The Hindu reports on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statements regarding the Pahalgam terror attack and the ongoing debate over restoring statehood to the region. Abdullah asserts that no locals were involved in the attack itself and suggests that any local assistance given to the terrorists was likely coerced. He cautions the NIA against broad generalizations about local collaboration. He also reiterates the demand for the restoration of statehood to J&K, framing it as a constitutional right of the people and not a political bargaining chip.
**News Article:**
**J&K Chief Minister Abdullah Claims No Locals Involved in Pahalgam Terror Attack, Cautions NIA Against Generalizations**
**SRINAGAR –** Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asserted on Tuesday that the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, involved no local residents as perpetrators. Speaking at a tourism promotion event in Gulmarg on June 24, 2025, Abdullah suggested that any local assistance provided to the attackers was likely given under duress.
“There was no local involvement in the Pahalgam incident. The people who shot and killed those 26 persons were all outsiders,” Abdullah stated.
His comments follow the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) arrest of two locals, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, for allegedly harboring the terrorists. Abdullah urged the NIA to avoid drawing sweeping conclusions based on these arrests. “We must not allow the actions of a few foreign militants to paint our people as collaborators,” he emphasized, suggesting that coercion should be considered a factor.
In addition to addressing the terror attack, Chief Minister Abdullah once again pressed for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. He framed statehood as a fundamental constitutional right belonging to the people, not a political tool. “It’s people’s constitutional right. If statehood is restored, my government would not object in any way,” he stated. He added that his government wouldn’t shy away from approaching the Raj Bhawan to dissolve the Assembly if elections were deemed necessary for the restoration of statehood.
Abdullah cautioned against what he called “misleading narratives” surrounding the issue of statehood. “Don’t attempt to intimidate us with scripted stories. Statehood is our right and not a bargaining chip,” he declared.
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