3 min readJul 20, 2026 07:06 AM IST
First published on: Jul 20, 2026 at 06:16 AM IST
I have read the editorial in this newspaper, ‘On J&K statehood, Omar Abdullah is spot on. He doesn’t need Trump clickbait’ (IE, July 14, 2026.) While I appreciate the editorial’s unequivocal support for the legitimate and justified aspiration for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, one aspect of my speech requires clarification.
I have come to expect political parties in Opposition to lift a sentence out of context in order to build a convenient narrative. I did not, however, expect The Indian Express to do the same. The editorial draws an inference from my reference to US President Donald Trump that misrepresents both the context and the explicit intent of my remarks. The reference was made while responding to a statement by the Leader of the Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir, who had remarked that statehood could not be achieved by staging a protest at Jantar Mantar. My point was simple: If even a peaceful protest in our own national capital is to be dismissed, where exactly are we expected to go? It was a satirical political rebuttal to an opposition remark, not a policy position and certainly not an appeal for external intervention.
Regrettably, the editorial chose to isolate a single sentence from my speech while ignoring the context in which it was made. More importantly, it overlooked the unequivocal manner in which I concluded my remarks.
Our demand for the restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir is neither based on rhetoric nor confrontation. It rests on the solemn assurance given by the Union government before the Honourable Supreme Court of India, as well as the repeated commitments made by the Honourable Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister, both in Parliament and in the public domain. It is these assurances that continue to guide our expectations.
I concluded my speech by stating, in unambiguous terms, that we have complete faith in our own country and that our struggle for the restoration of statehood will be pursued within the framework of its Constitution. My remarks were neither an invitation for external involvement nor a suggestion that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir be viewed through an international prism. Regrettably, this crucial part of my address found no mention in the editorial.
The distinction is important and deserved to be acknowledged, particularly in an editorial that proceeds to discuss the history of attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue. By omitting both the context and the conclusion of my speech, the editorial left readers with an impression that is entirely at odds with what I actually said.
While I expect selective quotation and convenient distortion from political opponents, I expect greater care, fairness and editorial rigour from The Indian Express. A newspaper of your standing should have examined the complete speech before attributing to me a position I neither articulated nor hold.
The writer is Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
