AFSPA row: 'No is not an option' says Omar to Army

Srinagar: The marathon meeting of the Unified Command in Srinagar on Wednesday has accentuated the communication gap between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Army.

The Chief Minister today appeared defiant saying his government has the authority to revoke the controversial law. "I have the authority. The elected state government of any state has the authority. In this case (revocation of AFSPA), the authority rests with the Governor who would act on the basis of the state government's recommendations."

Insisting that 'no' is not an option for him, Mr Abdullah said  he had sought a "feasible and workable" solution from the Army at the Unified Headquarters meeting.

"(It) is further cemented by what the Cabinet Committee on Security has said and also what the Union Home Minister has said in recent media interviews. So I don't think it is anybody's case, least of all the army's, that the state government does not have the authority (to revoke the AFSPA)," the Chief Minister said.

While Mr Abdullah is bent on having is way, the Army has dug in its heels and said, withdrawal of the AFSPA from select areas is dangerous for the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

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The Army says in counter-insurgency operations  there are no isolated areas of stability. Pointing out that Pakistan's proxy war has not ended in Kashmir, the top brass argues that one peaceful summer is not enough to gauge normalcy

In New Delhi too, the divide is as sharp. While Home Minister P. Chidambaram is backing Omar Abdullah, other members of the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs like Defence Minister AK Antony and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee are advising  caution - a view supported by the Cabinet and Defence Secretaries after their recent trip to Kashmir.

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But today Mr Abdullah received support from unexpected quarters. Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Union Health Minister, said, "This is something which should be left to the chief minister of the state who is also the home minister of the state and to the home minister of India. Both of them are proper persons to know what's the situation. Why should we give an impression that nothing has changed in 20 years?"

(With PTI inputs)

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