'We're looking to the future, but we won't forget and won't give up the hunt for the terrorists' - Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's message from Pahalgam's Betaab Valley to the people of the former state, as they limp to normalcy after the horrific terror attack last month.
Mr Abdullah spoke exclusive to NDTV Tuesday afternoon, perched on the banks of the Lidder River as it bubbled and gurgled past, after a special meeting of the J&K Cabinet in Pahalgam.
What was discussed at this meeting? That is not important.
And neither, really, is the fact it was the first time the Cabinet has met outside Srinagar (the summer capital) or Jammu (the winter capital) in this nascent government's tenure.
So what is important?
That this meeting was a message, a gesture of defiance aimed at terrorism and the terrorists who targeted civilians in a cowardly attempt to shut down the tourism sector, J&K's lifeblood.
This meeting is also about acknowledging the immeasurable loss of 26 sets of families and also looking to the future, Mr Abdullah told NDTV, and about the inspiring 'not in our name' response of the Kashmiri people, many of whom risked their lives to help the Pahalgam attack victims.
"It is a difficult situation... we have to tread cautiously because while it is important that tourism revives, particularly in the Kashmir Valley, we don't want to give the impression that we are callous.. that the fact that 26 people lost their lives on April 22 somehow doesn't matter to us."
Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam after the April 22 attack.
"Of course it matters. But we must start looking to the future. We must start seeing how to normalise the situation and how places like Pahalgam and the Betaab Valley can reopen."
The Chief Minister was asked about re-opening popular tourist sites like the Baisaran Valley, the 'mini Switzerland' where the attack took place, and said, "That is what we're working on. So, yes... part of it is a confidence-boosting measure and part is to show Kashmir is open again."
NDTV then asked him about the revival of tourism and if that was discussed in the special Cabinet meeting held earlier in the day. The Chief Minister said tourism was discussed, but the focus was about "expressing solidarity with the people of Pahalgam... with the people of J&K".
The focus, he stressed, was to stand with the people of Kashmir, who spoke in unison and said "... this (the attack) is not in our name and we will not support the killing of innocent people".
He also said the special meeting in Pahalgam was meant to amplify that message of the people, to say all of J&K's MLAs, cutting across party lines, stood with the families of those killed.
"In the cities and in the rural areas the people came out and said, 'this is not in our name. We will not support the killing of innocent people'. It was also the first time in 35 years a special session of the Assembly was called and, cutting across party lines, the elected representatives condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the families of those who were killed."
"... what we're doing here is not muscle flexing. We're not trying to convey a 'hard image'... we are trying to show this is a government concerned with the welfare of the people... it's a government that wants J&K, and particularly Kashmir, to normalise now."
But as Pahalgam and the rest of J&K try to 'normalise', both after the terror attack and the military strikes by Pakistan, in which one person was killed and dozens of houses destroyed, there is still one sobering thought - the Pahalgam terrorists remain at large still.
Mr Abdullah told NDTV there will be no let-up in the hunt for the Pahalgam killers, but pointed to the mountainous terrain, full of vast and dense forests and craggy, hard-to-access mountains.
"Sometimes tracking these people down is not as simple as following them into a village," he said, pointing to mist-covered mountains around the valley to make his point. "These things take time but we're not going to give up. We will track them down and bring them to justice..."
What Happened In Pahalgam?
Twenty-six people were killed in a terror attack.
A proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a United Nations-recognised terrorist group operating out of Pakistan claimed responsibility. Islamabad, however, denied any knowledge of Lashkar's presence, despite Delhi providing substantial evidence to connect the dots.
After a raft of non-military measures, including suspending the critical Indus Waters Treaty that irrigates nearly 80 per cent of Pak's farmlands, India launched Operation Sindoor, a precision military response that destroyed four terror camps in Pak and five in Pak-occupied Kashmir.
Ignoring a warning to lay low, Pak fired drones and missiles at Indian armed forces and civilian centres that night. A military conflict raged for the next 100 hours and India responded with more precision strikes, this time targeting Pak air force bases and air defence radars.
Eventually Islamabad sued for peace and a ceasefire was announced on May 12.
READ | "Have Decided To Remove 'Terror Thorn' From India": PM's Vow
In his speech in Gandhinagar today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Op Sindoor had sparked a "wave of patriotism" in the country, and targeted Pakistan over continuing support for cross-border attacks, accusing it of using terrorism as a weapon and "waging war" against India.
