Srinagar, Oct 21 : With elections drawing nearer chief minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday again raked up AFSPA revocation issue saying he hopes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have serious look over the issue in coming months.
While talking to the reporters after he paid tributes to the martyrs on the Police Commemoration Day at Zewan Omar said that with the improvement in the situation and decline in the militant related activities, it is the ‘opportune’ time to make progress on AFSPA repeal issue.
He said that new reasons were found over the AFSPA revocation issue and that withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan was also made as one of the major reason for delaying of the AFSPA revocation.
“We were being led to believe that 2014 is going to be the violent year for Jammu and Kashmir because the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan would lead to the corresponding increase in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir,†Omar told reporters, adding that with the decline in the militancy, he hopes that progress will be made on the AFSPA revocation.
On holding of state elections in J&K on due date, Omar declined to comment saying as far as his party is concerned, it has already submitted its suggestions before ECI team and people.
Over holding of the ‘Million March’ for Kashmir’s independence on October 26, Omar remarked that the matter is related to the ministry of External Affairs and that his government is focused more on the relief and rehabilitation activities of the flood ravaged Kashmir. However, Omar stated that it would have been better doing the politics related to Kashmir here instead of doing it in the cozy environments of London, Washington or Paris. “I can only say that come to Kashmir, live here and then do it here.â€
Omar remarked that he has far more respect for those separatist leaders who actually hold their political activities in Kashmir. “I have respect for them who actually do it in Kashmir and then say the difficulties that are brought about on account of the law then those people who sit in cozy capital of London and Washington and then telling people of Kashmir what they should be doing,†Omar said.
Over the emergence of IS flags in Kashmir, Omar said that those who were found waving the IS flags in Srinagar were identified and cases were registered against them. “The investigations carried out later revealed that those detained have no background of the militancy and now why they have were holding IS flags will come to fore after further investigations,†Omar said.
