Srinagar: In a move which may be welcomed by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Obdullah, Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that paramiltitary forces will have a secondary role in maintaining law and order in the state.
Primary control will rest with the state police force.
The announcement comes at a time when there has been outrage in the state over the alleged rape and murder of two women in Shopian, possibly at the hands of security forces.
At discussions with J&K Chief Minister Omar Obdullah and senior Army officers on Thursday, Home Minister P Chidambaram proposed pushing paramilitary forces into secondary role. The idea was to push the Jammu and Kashmir police, drawn from the local population, into centrestage in the hope that the perception game could change.
Says DGP Kuldeep Khoda: "We are already in the forefront and discussing the situation."
But on the more contentious demand made by several political parties that the special powers to the Army be scrapped, the Home Minister indicated that there can be no overnight changes.
Though he's already indicated a willingness to review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.