US envoy Sergio Gor hints at ‘downgrading’ travel advisory for J&K after meeting CM Omar Abdullah

After meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Wednesday said the US was considering whether its travel advisory for the region should be downgraded, noting that the area offers significant beauty and opportunities for American visitors.

He mentioned significant steps have been taken to improve safety and security in the area.

Gor described Jammu and Kashmir as an important part of India and praised it as an exceptionally beautiful place during a joint media briefing with CM Abdullah.

“The United States puts out travel warnings and every so often we re-evaluate those travel warnings. I cannot make any big announcements here today but it is something that we are going to look at. New Delhi, the Chief Minister here, the Govt here, we believe have made some incredible steps to keeping this area safer and making it more safe,” Gor said, according to ANI.

He added, “So, we will be looking at if the travel warning that is imposed, that is recommended by the United States is something that should be downgraded. This is a beautiful area, I think a lot of Americans would enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and opportunity that exists here.”

Gor arrived in Srinagar earlier in the day for a two-day visit covering Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Shortly after his arrival, he met Abdullah at the chief minister's residence.

"I am thrilled to be here. We just had a very good meeting and we have some follow-ups that we hope to take back to Washington (and) back to Delhi. But a very warm, a very cordial meeting and we look forward to building this relationship forward," he said.

Gor is scheduled to travel to Ladakh on Thursday.

What did CM Abdullah say?

Abdullah stated his discussions with Gor covered India-US relations, with particular emphasis on issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir, according to PTI.

He asserted that the meeting was productive and focused on bilateral India-US relations, with particular attention to ways the US could engage with and contribute to Jammu and Kashmir.

"There are obviously certain legacy issues that over time we will be working to resolve. But we look forward to taking this conversation further. This is a conversation that will take place both between Ambassador Gor and Washington, and between me and the Government of India in New Delhi," he further said.

Abdullah expressed hope and optimism that engagement between the United States and Jammu and Kashmir would "both widen and deepen in the years ahead".

‘A wall between Kashmir and world’: Mufti

Meanwhile, People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday also called on Gor to reconsider and withdraw Washington's highest-level travel advisory for Kashmir.

She took to X and stated thousands of Kashmiri families rely on tourism for their livelihoods, arguing that the advisory was more than a caution to travellers and had become a "wall between Kashmir and the world".

"The least the US Ambassador Sergio Gor @USAmbIndia can do is review and withdraw the highest level travel advisory against visiting Kashmir," Mufti stated.

The former chief minister said the travel advisory had implications beyond a routine warning in Kashmir, where thousands of families rely on tourism for their livelihoods.

"It is a wall between Kashmir and the world. Lifting it would send a powerful message of confidence, help bring back international tourists and give much-needed relief to countless families whose livelihoods depend on tourism," she added.