coffins? Did this attack have our consent?" he said.

He said that the sentiment of every person in Jammu and Kashmir was a resounding "no", emphasising the deep and personal impact of the tragedy.

"We saw people coming out on their own from their homes, from Kathua to Kupwara, for the first time in 36 years to lodge their protest against the killings. There is hardly any place where the people have not condemned it and expressed in unequivocal terms that 'not in our name'", he said.

Paying tributes to Syed Adil Hussain Shah from Anantnag, who lost his life in the terror attack, Abdullah said "everyone valued his life, yet this young Kashmiri man sacrificed it to protect the tourists."

"He could have fled without question, but instead, he faced danger head-on."

Abdullah said that surviving tourists were sharing similar stories of courage and compassion like that of a pony handler who refused to leave a tourist behind, a Shikara wallah offering free rides, and taxi drivers and hoteliers providing free services and accommodation in Srinagar.

"I salute and thank them for this deeply ingrained hospitality," he said.

The chief minister said the reason behind constituting a special assembly session was that neither the Parliament nor any other assembly of the country can understand the pain of the 26 families other than this assembly.

"Speaker sahib, those people sitting around you have also lost someone or the other to terrorism. Our sisters (BJP's) Shagun Parihar, (NC minister) Sakina Itoo, (Peoples Conference chairman) Sajad Gani Lone, (NC legislator) Qaysar Jamshaid...somebody lost his father or uncle. Sajad expressed the pain in the House of losing someone close in a way that nobody else will," he said.

"How many of us were attacked...father of Rafiq Naik (of PDP) was attacked (on April 17, 2006). While the attacks are countless, the House also remembers the deadly attack on J&K Assembly complex in Srinagar on October 1, 2001 that left 40 people dead.

"That is the reason why I said neither Parliament nor any other assembly can understand this pain as will the J&K Assembly," Abdullah said.