‘Politics Must Be Verbal, Not Violent’: J&K CM Condemns Washington Gunfire

Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday condemned the recent shooting outside a Washington venue where US President Donald Trump was present, stressing that “violence has no place in politics” and voicing relief that the President escaped unharmed.

Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and senior officials were swiftly evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton after a gunman opened fire outside the ballroom on Sunday. 

“Thank God he survived, and I did not want anything to happen to him,” Abdullah said when asked about the incident, adding that politics must remain a battle of ideas, not weapons.  

Calling politics “a very dirty thing,” he underlined that disagreements should be expressed “verbally and democratically, not through violence”.

He added, “Harming someone is never justified anywhere. Such life-threatening attacks are unacceptable, and I hope incidents like this never happen to any political leader,”.

Meanwhile, Abdullah drew parallels with the Valley’s own turbulent history, he said “No one understands this better than we do in J&K. Over the past 30–35 years, many people from different political parties; be it BJP, National Conference, Congress or CPI(M) have lost their workers and leaders to bullets and terrorism. This should never have happened,”.

While reacting to the cancellation of US envoy-level talks in Pakistan concerning Iran, Abdullah urged that dialogue must not be abandoned, “It is fine if talks are held over the phone, but they should take place,” he said.

Emphasising the urgency of stability, he added: “We want peace to be restored and the ongoing tensions to end once and for all. Iran should be allowed to live in peace. Whatever has happened is done, but now the focus should be on organising lasting peace,".