J&K CM’s remark ahead of U.S. envoy meeting draws flak from PDP

Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, in Srinagar. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR Ahead of his meeting with the U.S. envoy in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) said it should be the Centre, and not Washington, that “solves our problems". This drew criticism from the Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which described the remark as “pre-emptive defensiveness”.Ruling out any attempt by the ruling National Conference to raise political issues with the visiting envoy, Sergio Gor, who serves as the U.S. Ambassador to India and Special Envoy to South and Central Asia, Mr. Abdullah said, “Our problems have nothing to do with him. It is not my habit to complain to an ambassador of another country. Washington should not solve our problems. Our central government should solve our problems.”Criticising the comment, PDP leader Iltija Mufti said, “I am yet to see an Indian CM so apologetic about a simple meeting with the U.S. Ambassador that he feels the need to announce beforehand what he will and won’t discuss. A meeting is a meeting. Why the public pre-emptive defensiveness?"Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur described the U.S. envoy’s visit as a “very positive thing” and said that the world should see what the “actual situation” in Kashmir now is, compared to how it was earlier. Published - August 19, 2026 09:49 pm IST