Omar meets Pranab, Antony over Kashmir problem

New Delhi: Ahead of Friday’s crucial Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meet in New Delhi to discuss the ongoing violence in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday to seek their supports for his demand for amendments in the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Abdullah, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday, had then highlighted the need for making AFSPA more humane, and requested Manmohan Singh to kick start a political dialogue with the separatists at the earliest.
“Yes, I have requested the Prime Minister to take a decision on amending the AFSPA or at best withdrawing it from some areas where it was not required. To begin with we may choose four districts in the state on experimental basis. Some calculated risks have to be taken. Let us see,” said Omar Abdullah after his meeting with Singh, which lasted for around 45-minutes.
“If I am not hopeful, I won’t be here,” he added, when asked whether the ongoing turmoil in the Valley would come to an end. Over sixty-nine people have been killed in the ongoing unrest in the Valley till date.