Pakistan-US row over Kashmir remarks is their bilateral matter: Omar

21/08/2026

SRINAGAR, Aug 20: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said Pakistan's summoning of the US Chargé d'Affaires over remarks by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Jammu and Kashmir was a matter between the two countries and neither India nor J&K had any role in it.
"That is a matter between Pakistan and the US. Neither you nor I can do anything about it. Whatever the US Ambassador said, he has said it. It is now between those two countries," Abdullah told reporters here.
Gor, who is also US President Donald Trump's special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs, visited Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday and met Abdullah in Srinagar during his first visit to the Union Territory.
After the meeting, Gor described Jammu and Kashmir as "an important part of India" and said the US would reconsider its travel advisories for the region, citing steps taken by the Centre and the J&K government to make it safer.
Pakistan subsequently summoned the US Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad and lodged a "strong demarche" over what it termed the ambassador's "factually incorrect remarks" concerning the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked about Congress' criticism that there was no need for India to hear from the US that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of the country and that third-party intervention was unnecessary, Abdullah said the Congress was entitled to its position.
"I am not getting into this. Congress has their point of view. They are a political party, the largest opposition party. They have a point of view and are entitled to it. I am not going to get into a war of words over this," he said.
On the proposed Kashmir International Film Festival, Abdullah said the objective was to expose local audiences to diverse forms of cinema rather than merely bring Bollywood or Hollywood celebrities to the region.
He said the festival would also focus on workshops in direction, cinematography, editing and music so that local youth could acquire skills and benefit from employment opportunities when film productions take place in J&K.
On the under-construction AIIMS, the Chief Minister said work was progressing rapidly and expressed hope that one block would become operational this year, with OPD and other basic treatment facilities.
Abdullah also said discussions on the location of a proposed law university were nearing completion and formal approval was expected soon.
On private universities, he said one or two institutions were ready to be established in Jammu and Kashmir and that positive developments, including foundation stone-laying and commencement of work, were likely in the coming weeks.

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