{"id":200252,"date":"2026-05-11T11:24:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=200252"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:24:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:24:26","slug":"statehood-vital-to-stop-policy-distortions-cm-omar-says-no-new-liquor-shops-opened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2026\/05\/11\/statehood-vital-to-stop-policy-distortions-cm-omar-says-no-new-liquor-shops-opened.html","title":{"rendered":"Statehood vital to stop policy distortions, CM Omar says no new liquor shops opened"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Srinagar: Reiterating the demand for restoration of statehood to stop policy distortions, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday clarified his remarks on liquor shops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that his government has opened no new outlets and does not promote alcohol among local youth.<\/p>\n

According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Omar said his earlier comments were \u201ctwisted\u201d by political opponents. \u201cThere is no confusion. My administration has neither opened new liquor shops nor encouraged alcohol consumption among local youth,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur religion does not permit us, nor do we want our people to go there,\u201d he said, adding that his government ensured no shops come up where youth could be negatively influenced. He accused opposition parties of selectively targeting his remarks while ignoring similar statements made by past governments.<\/p>\n

Omar stressed that lack of statehood was allowing his brief answers to be misrepresented. \u201cHad Jammu and Kashmir been a full state, such distortions by opponents would not arise,\u201d he said, reaffirming that only restoration of statehood can safeguard administrative clarity and protect youth from misleading narratives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar: Reiterating the demand for restoration of statehood to stop policy distortions, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday clarified his remarks on liquor shops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that his government has opened no new outlets and does not promote alcohol among local youth. According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":200253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-occupied-jammu-and-kashmir"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t