Newly elected Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah Thursday reignited the debate surrounding the 'Kashmir issue' by claiming the issue still exists, whether on this side of the border or the other.

In his maiden interaction with the media in Srinagar, Omar also expressed hope that the biggest promise of the restoration of statehood would be fulfilled by the central government soon.

Before opening the floor for questioning Omar in his brief remarks observed, "It has been a little over two months since we came to power. It took us time to understand how the UT government works. We have been associated with the government earlier, but there is a vast difference between that form and the present form". I thought working in such circumstances would be difficult, but our start has been quite 'decent' and they “did not find much difficulty” in it.

However, reacting to a straight question on the permanent settlement of the Kashmir issue Omar Abdullah attempted to reignite the spark by claiming  “Even if we accept that the status of Jammu and Kashmir has been permanently resolved, the fact remains that a part of Jammu and Kashmir lies on the other side of the border. When the BJP claims the Kashmir issue is resolved, does it mean they believe the issue on the other side of the border is also resolved? It hasn't. The Kashmir issue still exists, whether on this side of the border or the other, and that is something we can discuss.”

Commenting on the promises made by the National Conference in its election manifesto during the Assembly polls Omar, flanked by his cabinet colleagues in the SKICC, told the gathering of media persons, “Some issues were important to us and we fulfilled those including the resolution on the statehood, and the resolution on the special status".

“We the people are now expecting that the promises made with us will be fulfilled. The biggest promise is the restoration of statehood. The Supreme Court in its judgement had also stated that the statehood should be restored as soon as possible. One year has passed since and we think one year should be enough,” he added.

Abdullah said the sentiments of the people should be respected and their aspirations fulfilled.

When asked why his government went to New Delhi with the resolution on the restoration of J-K’s statehood, instead of approaching courts, Abdullah said a legal fight on the matter should be the last option. He said no chief minister of a Union territory is as empowered as a chief minister of a state. “That is a fact. There is no point in living in denial. If I were an empowered CM, why would I ask for restoration of statehood.”

Brushing aside speculation that the Centre was trying to destabilize his government and that NC was going to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Abdullah said, “There is no pressure from the PM, home minister or Raj Bhawan on us to change our ideology. I have been told by the PM and the home minister that your government will not be destabilised, and that we will give you the same cooperation as given to the LG.