Pahalgam attack hit tourism in J&K, but it is not empty: Omar Abdullah

Ahmedabad, July 31: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said tourism in his union territory got affected after the Pahalgam terror attack, but asserted that people associated with the industry were not sitting idle either.

Abdullah has been on a two-day visit to Gujarat from Wednesday to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.

In one of the worst terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir in recent history, 26 tourists, including several from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, were killed at Pahalgam on April 22 this year. Among them were Shailesh Kalthia from Surat, and the father-son duo from Bhavnagar Yatish Parmar and Smit Parmar. The attack also dealt a blow to Kashmir's tourism economy.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday on the second day of his visit to Gujarat, Abdullah said, "I am not denying that the Pahalgam terror attack had affected our tourism industry. Because it happened in the beginning of the peak season and everyone left the state overnight after the attack."

"But Kashmir is not empty and we have not come here in despair. We just want more people to visit Jammu and Kashmir. So don't harbour any misunderstanding. Lakhs of people have already visited Kashmir for Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra and for Amarnath Yatra (after the Pahalgam attack)," he said.

He was here as part of the tourism promotion event organised by the Travel Agents Society of Kashmir (TASK), apex body of tour operators of Kashmir.