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| Omar holds hectic parleys with PM, ministers, talks remain "inconclusive" | | Partial revocation of AFSPA Delhi tells him to sort out issue with Unified Headquarters | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Nov 14: As the issue of partial revocation of AFSPA, that gives army sweeping powers, from J&K is back into focus, hectic parleys were held today in New Delhi, with chief minister Omar Abdullah meeting prime minister Manmohan Singh, defence minister A K Antony and some senior ministers, and Congress Core Group holding intense consultations.
The talks, however, remained inconclusive as no time limit could be fixed for the decision, a senior politician and minister in J&K said. The Centre and the state governments are grappled with the contentious issue ever since Omar has started pushing for the AFSPA withdrawal from some J&K parts.
In his meeting Singh and Antony, Omar asserted that his proposal can be implemented while addressing the concerns of armed forces. Antony, however, maintained that no time limit could be put on the "very very sensitive" issue which requires a "mature and cool" handling. Amid persisting differences over the issue, Omar pushed his case for revocation of the controversial act from certain parts of the state. He was also scheduled to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
"I believe that there is ample opportunity to address both the concerns of armed forces while still allowing us to go ahead with the position that we have taken, which is in keeping with what the Cabinet Committee on Security recommended almost a year ago," Omar said after meeting Chidambaram.
He said he was meeting members of the Cabinet Committee on Security as part of his efforts to evolve a consensus. "Obviously the effort is to narrow the differences between what we would like to see happening and what the Army has so far publicly stated .. to let happen," he said.
Asked what assurance he received from the prime minister and the union ministers, Omar said it was not proper for him to say anything on their behalf. "I am not...it is not my place to speak on behalf of 'raksha mantri' or the Prime Minister or the Home Minister. I have made our point of view very clear. They, I think, were very receptive, to what we had to say. As I say, this is an ongoing process, this will continue," he told reporters.
Antony later said on the sidelines of a defence ministry awards event in New Delhi that his talks with Omar on the AFSPA withdrawal were "very frank and very friendly" though "inconclusive". He said discussions within the central government and with the state government on the issue were continuing, but refused to fix a time-limit for a decision. "Yesterday, I had a very frank and very friendly discussion with Omar.
Discussion was fruitful, but inconclusive," he said. "Discussions will continue. Inside the government also, we are continuing the discussion. That's all," he said. Asked if a decision will come within this week on the matter, his curt response was "don't put any time limits".
Antony said he had already expressed his opinion on the issue many times. "This being a very, very sensitive issue, let us handle it in a very, very matured and cool manner. I do not want to enter into a public controversy or public debate on this very sensitive issue," he added.
On the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the defence minister said it was "much better" now. "But considering the attempts at infiltration from across the border continuing, we have to be careful 24X7," he added.
Omar's meeting with Singh and Antony later forced Congress Core Group to meet separately and discuss the issue. Congress top brass, including Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi held intense consultations in New Delhi. There was no official word on what transpired at the 90-minute meeting of the Core Group in which Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was also present. On the issue of AFSPA, army had voiced serious concern over the move to withdraw it from certain parts of Jammu and Kashmit citing security reasons even as Omar has been insisting on it. |
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