‘Things could have been different’: Omar hails Vajpayee, regrets abandonment of his J&K roadmap

Srinagar, Nov 5: Hailing former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a visionary leader, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that things would have been different “had we followed his footsteps”.

Speaking during the obituary references, Omar said that Vajpayee talked about ‘Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat, and sought to build bridges across divides and foster peace in the region.

“…If Vajpayee's roadmap for Jammu and Kashmir had been fully embraced, the region’s political situation might have been vastly different today,” said Omar, while hinting at the Aug 5, 2019 decisions.

"He initiated the Lahore bus service, famously visited Minar-e-Pakistan, and tirelessly advocated for friendly ties with Pakistan. His slogan of ‘Jhamoriyat, Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat’ was not just a phrase—it was a roadmap for peace and coexistence," Omar added.

Omar recalled how Vajpayee, who famously stated that while friends can be changed, neighbors cannot, worked toward connecting the divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

However, Omar lamented that the vision laid out by Vajpayee had been abandoned, particularly after the 2019 revocation of Article 370, which led to the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate Union Territories, J&K and Ladakh. "Had Vajpayee's roadmap been followed in spirit, we would not have found ourselves where we are today," Omar said.

On Vajpayee's approach to the Autonomy resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Omar said while Vajpayee’s government initially rejected the resolution, the former Prime Minister later recognized that the decision had been made hastily. "Vajpayee appointed the then Law Minister to engage in talks with the National Conference leadership on the autonomy issue. Unfortunately, that process was left unfinished after his passing," Omar rued.