After the revocation of the special status granted under Article 370 in 2019 and the establishment of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as a federal unit, Omar Abdullah has taken the oath as the first chief minister.
According to international news agencies, in the recent elections in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference party secured the most seats, winning 43 seats. Meanwhile, the allied Congress party achieved success in 8 constituencies.
“We look forward to working with the Government of India to resolve the people’s problems and the best way to do that would be to start by restoring statehood to J-K,” Mr Abdullah told an Indian news channel after offering prayers at the Hazratbal shrine.
With a total of 51 seats out of 90, the National Conference, led by Farooq Abdullah, nominated his son Omar Abdullah as chief minister.
Omar Abdullah previously served as the chief minister of IIOJK from 2009 to 2015 under the pro-India puppet administration.
The Congress party, which was an ally of the National Conference, has chosen not to participate in the new IIOJK government.
Tariq Hameed Karra, the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, explained that his party has firmly urged the Centre to restore statehood to IIOJK, as the Prime Minister has repeatedly promised in public meetings. However, statehood has yet to be reinstated. Therefore being dissatisfied with the situation, they will not be joining the Ministry.
The rift between Farooq Abdullah and Modi’s government widened when, in 2019, a controversial law was enacted to revoke the special status of IIOJK, integrating it into India as a federal unit.
In response to this controversial action, Kashmiri leaders supporting Modi, including Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti, protested, resulting in their detention for nearly a year.
The elections held this month marked the first electoral process since the region’s status as a federal unit of India.
