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| Omar asks Centre for early withdrawal of Army from troubled areas | | | ABID SHAH
EARLY TIMES REPORT
NEW DELHI, July 17: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today met here top Central leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, to discuss ways and means to turn the relative calm now at last coming to the Valley into durable peace.
This was Chief Minister's first meeting with Delhi's top leadership after fierce protests broke out in several towns of Kashmir, including border State's summer Capital Srinagar.
Omar began his day by calling on Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Later, the Chief Minister said that he had detailed discussions with the Home Minister regarding recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly on law and order front. "I discussed with him about the need to equip better the paramilitary and State Police forces with non-lethal weapons and improved technology for effective crowd control."
Indicating an imminent withdrawal of Army personnel recently requisitioned to help civilian and paramilitary forces in guarding troubled cities, Omar noted that there has been no casualty since last Tuesday (July 13) and said that "Army is part of State's counter insurgency grid. Army is also part of necessary deployment along the Line of Control (LOC) and the border. Beyond that there is no role for Army."
In his meeting with Prime Minister Omar thanked Manmohan Singh for Centre's timely help in controlling the fast deteriorating situation since last month where youth from the Valley took to streets and fought pitched battles with armed forces while protesting against one after the other death in firing.
The Chief Minister is believed to have discussed with the PM about the need for reducing the level of unemployment in Kashmir. About 6 lakh youth are said to be unemployed and, thus, for them taking to streets and joining protests and showdown with police has been a recurring phenomenon faced by the authorities.
Omar has also been of the view that to make peace durable the Government should open the doors for talks with all shades of opinion. Significantly, his meeting here with Central leaders has come close on the heels of discussions that External Affairs Minister and Union Home Minister had had with their counterparts in Pakistan recently where the issue of Jammu and Kashmir was raised by hosts. Thus, a new political response from Indian side is somehow called for. Though there is no word in this regard from either the side of the Chief Minister or the Centre so far, this is thought to be discussed with Omar by Central leaders today.
Omar also called on Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. She assured him of continuing support of Congress to Omar and National Conference with whom the Congress shares power in J&K. Today's meeting with Sonia by the Chief Minister signifies Congress' pitching in for Omar Abdullah more than before since the party was cold shouldered by People's Democratic Party and its leader Mehbooba Mufti who declined a request by top Congress leaders mainly through Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend all party meeting in Srinagar called by Omar Abdullah on last Monday (July 12) to discuss recent spate of protests in the Valley that had the blessings of separatists. Omar wanted to strike a common response on behalf of all the mainstream parties against the challenge posed by separatists.
To take the ire from the separatists' recent onslaught the first instinct of the Chief Minister has been to put Central paramilitary forces under greater restraint but this sparked off a row though a mild one between National Conference and Congress at least at the State level.
Omar is said to have discussed today with Union Home Minister the need for curbing flow of money to separatists and instigators whom he alleged to be organising stone pelting mobs of youth. Omar is also expected to call on Union Defence Minister AK Antony to discuss the role of Army in case a need is felt for discussions in this regard by the Central leadership.
Before today's meeting of Omar with top Central leaders his father Farooq Abdullah had met Prime Minister and Union Home Minister about a week ago to talk about the recent crisis faced by the NC-Congress coalition Government in Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq has helped Omar in facing this by visiting Srinagar and holding parleys with different sections as also J&K Governor NN Vohra to discuss law and order situation when this was felt to have turned quite precarious in the State.
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