Pahalgam Terror Attack Aftermath: Restore Statehood In Jammu & Kashmir

Crisis is the truest test of leadership, and the recent terrorist attack near Pahalgam, in which 25 tourists and a local pony-man, Syed Adil Hussain Shah, were brutally killed, has put Jammu and Kashmir to that test once again. While the carnage was the worst in two decades, the response from both the political leadership and ordinary Kashmiris has been extraordinary and deeply moving. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s address in the Assembly was firm, balanced, and statesmanlike. So was the tone of Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, who moved the unanimously passed resolution condemning the attack. More telling, however, was the public outrage that poured out unprompted from across the Valley. Loudspeakers in mosques echoed not just prayers, but denunciations of terror. People took to the streets not in anger, but in mourning — united in grief, and in defiance of those who seek to tear the region apart.

The nature of the attack marks a dangerous shift. It may be the first time that terrorists targeted tourists — after reportedly confirming their religious identity. One of the victims was a Christian, underscoring the cold-blooded sectarianism of the act. The targeting of outsiders, especially during the peak tourist season, seems calculated to instil fear and isolate the region even further from the rest of the country. Kashmiris have suffered the most. Just when tourism was beginning to peak, bringing hope to thousands dependent on it, this violence has cast a long, chilling shadow. Hotels, guides, pony-men, taxi drivers, handicraft sellers — almost every household in some parts of the Valley relies, directly or indirectly, on the seasonal economic boom. Their pain is not just emotional; it is existential.

What is deeply troubling is the structural flaw the tragedy exposes. Chief Minister Abdullah’s candid remark that his government has no role in national security — and his exclusion from a key review meeting — underscores the absurdity of the current arrangement. When a state’s own elected head is kept out of the security loop, but his subordinates are included, it is not just an administrative lapse, it is an affront to democracy. The bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories, carried out without public consultation or consent, has failed to deliver either peace or efficiency. It was a political gamble that has neither won hearts nor secured lives. The logic is simple: if New Delhi could not prevent Pahalgam even with full control of security, why not trust the elected state government with greater responsibility? It is time to admit that the decision to downgrade Jammu and Kashmir was both unwise and unjust. The people deserve their dignity back. Statehood must be restored; the sooner the better.