Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he hoped the international film festival in Srinagar would remind the Indian film industry that Kashmir was once a preferred destination for film shoots.

Omar, who spoke to the media on the sidelines of the festival, said he hoped it would help bring film shoots back to Kashmir and generate local employment.

“We are trying to remind the film industry in India that before Switzerland and other countries, films were made in Kashmir,” Omar said.

The remarks come three days after the J&K Chief Minister met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Omar also addressed questions about the meeting, saying he was in “constant touch” with Shah.

International film festival of jammu and kashmir

“There are many issues between J&K and the central government – whether statehood, business rules, or the reservation issue. So, there was much to talk about,” he said.

Security for Kashmiri Pandits & Saharanpur mosque demolition

Omar also addressed questions on several issues, from the recent threat letters issued to Kashmiri Pandit government employees in J&K to the Saharanpur mosque demolition. On the former, he urged the security establishment to “take them seriously” and investigate them.

This comes after a recent spate of such letters reignited the debate over their security.

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“It’s not something that should be ignored,” Omar said. “We have seen targeted killings of migrants in the past. Whether it was in a chemist shop, a dhaba or somebody working in a bank, they were targeted purely because of their ethnicity or their religion,” he said. “And this is something we can’t afford. We’ve already paid a heavy price for what happened in the early 90s.”

He also condemned the recent mosque demolition in Saharanpur, alleging that the decisions “were made based on religion”. He said the central government should “at least act on what the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said in his speech in the US”.

In that speech at a Universal Oneness Celebration in New York, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said a true Hindu cannot believe that Muslims have no place in India.

International film festival of jammu and kashmir

“At least act on that. If you do that, it will be a good thing,” he said. “But these people say one thing and do something else. They don’t believe in what they say or what their leaders say. Nor do they have the strength to act on it.”

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Omar also called the alleged police assault of two women journalists in Delhi “extremely unfortunate”. Referring to allegations by two journalists who claimed they were assaulted after revealing their Muslim identity, he said: “The way Muslims are treated as outsiders, as others – whether it’s with the demolition of mosques or the way in which they were assaulted – is extremely unfortunate and something that shouldn’t happen”.

Medical intern strike

He also addressed the strike by medical interns in J&K seeking an increase in their stipend from Rs 12,500 to Rs 30,000. The strike, he claimed, “should not have come to this”.

“As far as I know, they have been assured. But what will happen next, you should ask Sakina sahiba [Education Minister Sakin Itoo],” he said. “I would like this matter to be resolved as soon as possible. It’s not in anyone’s interest. First of all, their work is suffering. Their internship is suffering. And we don’t want our children to do this.”

The four-day International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir will run from September 7 to September 10. ‘Rang-e-Cinema’ – Kashmir’s first film festival – will showcase 135 film submissions from 41 countries.  The shortlisted films and programmes will be showcased at Sheri Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) and INOX PVR in Srinagar, Waves Cinema in Jammu, and at Gulmarg health resort.