Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said a meeting with the US ambassador is taking place after a very long time. The envoy is visiting this afternoon, and Omar indicated he would mostly prefer to listen, noting that the ambassador is also coming to listen. “Let’s see what kind of conversation takes place,” he remarked.
Omar made it clear that the region’s issues have nothing special to do with the ambassador. He said it has never been his habit to take complaints to any other country’s envoy. “The solution to our issues is not to be provided by Washington. The solution to our issues has to be provided by our own central government,” he stated. Talking about problems with another country, he felt, would be the wrong approach.
On Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said they would discuss the matter, but “I will neither complain nor seek any solution from him.”
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor will reach Kashmir today and is expected to arrive in Srinagar in the afternoon. He will meet separately both heads with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
He is scheduled to stay overnight at the Taj Vivanta hotel in Srinagar. Afterwards, his visit to Ladakh is likely on Thursday, August 20. This is Gor’s first official visit to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since he assumed charge as the 27th U.S.
Responding to BJP allegations of corruption, Omar said that even if one assumes for a second that what they are saying is correct, “we do not even have the power to hide it.” He asked which investigative agency he controls—”Not even one.” The police, the Crime Branch, and the ACB are not with him, he said, and the central agencies are a far cry. “Tell me if any agency has said that yes, corruption has taken place in this matter. Control over all these agencies is with the BJP. You get it done if corruption has really taken place; register a case,” Omar challenged.
