New Delhi:
After a meeting with his party in Srinagar, sources confirm that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has not threatened to resign after a snub from the central government, and that he will wait till tomorrow's crucial all-party meeting on Kashmir in Delhi to decide his next move.
On Monday, after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by the PM, an official statement issued by the government said it wants to reduce the "trust deficit and governance-deficit" in J&K. (
Read: Govt snubs Omar with "governance-deficit remark") Reports surfaced that Omar would offer to quit. Home Minister P Chidambaram allegedly phoned Abdullah and requested him to hold off on making any decisions till after the all-party meeting on Kashmir concludes on Wednesday.
Farooq Abdullah, who returned to India on Tuesday afternoon, spoke briefly to NDTV in Delhi before he headed to Srinagar. He confirmed that he would return to Delhi for the all-party meeting. When asked about the "governance-deficit" swipe, he said, "Since I was out of the country, I don't know the situation here... let me go and find out." Government sources stress that in Delhi, the approach is to "face the reality of governance-deficit."
The entire Kashmir valley is under curfew after Monday's violence in which 17 people were killed. The J&K police said the violence was provoked by false reports that a copy of the Quran had been desecrated in the US. (
Read: 17 dead, 45 injured; J&K govt appeals for calm)
For the first time since the Kargil War, all flights in and out of Srinagar have been suspended for the next three days. Since the 2nd of this month, flights have been moved to the Awantipura air base because the runway at the Srinagar airport is being renovated. Sources say flights were cancelled because the state government couldn't assure airlines of the security of staff and passengers. (
Read: Air services to Srinagar suspended for 3 days)The rarest of rare conditions like that underscore how desperate the situation in Kashmir is - 70 civilians have been killed in the last 3 months. The crisis will be discussed threadbare at Wednesday's meeting, which will be attended, among others, by the BJP and Sonia Gandhi. The most controversial part of the discussion will undoubtedly be the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Omar Abdullah has been pushing for the Act's withdrawal, at least in areas where militancy has declined. The Act is often criticised for being "draconian" and giving the Army sweeping powers without any accountability. Home Minister P Chidambaram wants the Act to be amended to make it more "humane." His blueprint for a new Act was discussed at yesterday's meeting with the PM.
The Army is opposed to either withdrawing the Act, or amending it. Defence Minister AK Antony has stressed that the Act is critical in the legal immunity it provides officers who are fighting a "proxy war" in states like J&K. Chief of Air Staff P V Naik, who is also Chief of the Armed Services, said on Tuesday, "Whatever decision the government takes on AFSPA will be done only after ensuring legal protection to the Armed Forces."
(Read: Forces must get legal protection: Air Chief)Sources in the government say that AFSPA is not a single-point solution to the Kashmir problem. At the meeting, it will be stressed that the dilution AFSPA should be a starting point for dialogue. They also confirm that lifting AFSPA in some parts of Kashmir is being seriously considered. (
Read: Advani on Kashmir: 'UPA is spineless, clueless')