Omar Abdullah sharply reacts to Trump-Munir White House lunch: ‘They do not care for any other country’

Upset with US President Donald Trump hosting Pakistan Army chief Asif Munir for a White House lunch, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said Washington can do anything to secure its interests. The chief minister has said the US is a "friend" of other countries only until its interests are served.

Speaking to reporters at the Srinagar Railway station, Omar Abdullah said, as quoted by PTI, “The US President is a master of his own will. Can we tell him whom he should invite for meals and whom not? It is a separate issue that we used to think the US President was our very special friend, and he would respect our friendship. But obviously, America does what benefits it. They do not care for any other country.”

The chief minister and his father, Farooq Abdullah, travelled to Jammu on the recently launched Vande Bharat train.

On his train journey, he said, "Had it not been good, why would I have returned by train? The manner in which the people are trying to book tickets for this train, and that the process of waiting list has started, we want the length (capacity) and the frequency of the train to be increased."

He added, "It has become a successful service in just a few days; we would want more people to benefit from it."

On Iran-Israel conflict

Commenting on the Iran-Israel conflict, Omar Abdullah said the war should stop and the issue resolved through dialogue.

"This bombing should not have started. Before this, when the American intelligence in-charge was asked if Iran had the nuclear bomb, he had said he did not think Iran could make a bomb for a long time. But Israel attacked Iran within a few months. This attack should stop and the issues resolved through talks," he said.

When asked about the local students studying in Iran, he said, "We cannot bring them back overnight, as airports and ports are closed. We are bringing them via road first to those cities where there is no bombing, then they are being brought back through Armenia. We are hopeful that today, 300-400 students are returning, a majority of whom are from J-K. We will bring them home safely."

On relations with LG

Abdullah said the Lieutenant Governor (LG) should approve the business rules that have been approved by the cabinet to end the confusion.

"I have never said LG has all the powers. You check the J-K Reservation Act. The LG has himself said that his responsibility is limited to only the security and law and order. That is why I am saying that the business rules approved by the cabinet should be signed and returned by the LG so that there is no confusion," he said.

"The LG has one responsibility: He should protect the people of J-K and improve the security scenario here … Rest of the responsibilities are ours," the CM added.

With agency inputs.