Removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act not to 'undermine role of Army': Omar

Srinagar: After it seemed to be snowballing into a confrontation, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today reached out to the Army over the revocation of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The Chief Minister had, just last week, announced at a police function that the AFSPA would be removed from some areas in the state. A stumped Defence Ministry as well as the Army, according to sources, were reportedly opposed to the move. A series of high-level meetings on security - including on AFSPA - in Srinagar between a Central delegation and the Chief Minister as well as with other agencies ensured that the reported rift over the controversial Act hogged the headlines.

In what seemed to be an effort to defuse the tension, Mr Abdullah today said that the removal of the AFSPA is "not an effort to undermine the role of the Army". In a press release issued today, the Chief Minister said, "it is nobody's case to demonize the Army because the Army has proved time and again that it is a disciplined force."

He also said that the lifting of AFSPA is being done "in close consultation with the Army", effectively hinting that the revocation of the Act was very much on the cards.