New Delhi, July 17: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Saturday held a series of meetings with Central leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who assured him all help and support to overcome the present crisis in Jammu and Kashmir.
The chief minister began his day with a meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram with whom he had a detailed discussion about the prevailing situation in the state and the steps being taken to improve it.
Omar, who heads the National Conference-Congress coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and discussed with her the functioning of his government.
Sources said Gandhi expressed her satisfaction over the handling of the situation by the state government and assured full support of her party to it.
 Later, the Chief Minister met the Prime Minister and briefed him about the law and order situation in the state and the steps being taken to bring back normalcy in the Valley.
The Prime Minister also assured all help and support to the state government, sources said.
The Chief Minister apprised the Prime Minister about the deliberations of recently held All Party Conference at Srinagar and gave detailed account of the resolutions passed in the Conference and suggestions put forth by the leaders of various political parties.
Emphasizing the need for restoration of sustained and meaningful dialogue with all shades of opinion in the State, Omar stressed on political engagement on internal and external fronts to address all issues pertaining to the Jammu and Kashmir. He said table is the only platform to discuss political issues amicably and necessary initiative is urgently needed in this regard.
The issues relating to the J&K youth and creation of adequate jobs for them were also discussed thread bear in the meeting. Omar highlighted the need for involving the youth in the development process in a big way providing them ample opportunities of employment and work.
The Prime Minister asked Omar to send him a comprehensive proposal in this regard assuring all possible help from the Centre. Dr Singh also assured full support to Omar led Government in its endeavour to steer the State towards the peace and economic progress.
Earlier, Omar said his government was contemplating to put in place a more concrete mechanism to check inflow of foreign funds to protestors in the state.
He also said that during his meeting with the Home Minister he discussed how to give better equipment to paramilitary forces and J&K Police so that they can control the crowd in better ways so that no incident takes place and no one dies.
Kashmir Valley has witnessed protests since June 11 when a teenaged boy died allegedly in teargas shelling by police in downtown Srinagar.
Omar refuted the opposition’s allegations that he was losing control over the government, saying, “Had I lost control, the situation would have been worst.”
Asked about the deployment of the Army, he said the Army was deployed after the state government and various agencies assessed the situation and the report given to them.
“The state government and various agencies assessed the situation and on the basis of that, a decision was taken Tuesday last. Looking at the situation on the ground on Tuesday last and most importantly to put an end to the large protests and to the cycle of violence - people were protesting and dying - we took a decision,” he said.
On the withdrawal of the Army, the chief minister said, “As far as I am concerned, a decision has to be taken in the light of the result that it (deployment of Army) delivered and the result wanted”.
Omar said, “Due the efforts of the state government, there has been no casualty since Tuesday last”.
“There has been no casualty since Tuesday last and that is what we are trying. People are still coming to various places and protesting but fortunately not with the intensity what we have seen in the past,” he said.
Omar left back for Srinagar this evening.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST