Delivering the keynote address at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a rare and explicit gesture of appreciation towards Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, describing his approach to economic restoration as “focused, determined and result-oriented” in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that left 26 tourists dead and the Valley’s vital tourism sector paralysed.

Sitharaman recounted how, during the period of direct Central rule, the Government of India had undertaken painstaking reforms — clearing decades of financial undergrowth, recapitalising and professionally restructuring the Jammu & Kashmir Bank, expanding infrastructure projects and aggressively marketing the region as a safe investment and tourism destination — which had finally placed the Union territory on an upward trajectory with visible buoyancy in trade, horticulture and handicrafts.

That hard-earned momentum, she emphasised, was deliberately targeted and severely disrupted by cross-border terrorism sponsored from Pakistan when heavily armed militants carried out the deadliest strike on civilians since the region had witnessed in years, triggering mass cancellations, empty hotels and a collapse in tourist footfall that threatened to undo years of economic progress within weeks.

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In an unusual public acknowledgement from a senior BJP minister towards a leader from the opposition National Conference, Sitharaman revealed that Omar Abdullah, within weeks of assuming office, sought and held two detailed meetings with her, arriving armed with sector-specific revival plans, fiscal requests and confidence-building measures aimed at quickly restoring visitor sentiment and protecting livelihoods dependent on tourism and allied industries.

Stressing that India’s broader economic resilience is strengthened when every region contributes robustly, the Finance Minister asserted that the visible coordination between the elected government in Srinagar and the Union government in New Delhi sends a powerful message of unity and shared purpose, even as security forces continue to counter persistent threats from state and non-state actors along the border.

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