New Delhi, Oct 22: The Defence Ministry is not in agreement with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after the latter announced the revocation of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some areas in Jammu and Kashmir, sources say.
While addressing a gathering yesterday, Abdullah had said that AFSPA alongwith the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA) would be lifted from some areas in the state within the next few days.
Caught off-guard by Abdullah’s statement, high-level sources have said that the Defence Ministry - on the advice of the Army - is opposed to revocation of AFSPA even from selected areas. It, though, is agreeable to a reduction in the visibility and presence of the Army.
In fact, the Cabinet Secretary is leading a high-level delegation comprising the Home and Defence Secretaries among others, to meet the Chief Minister Sunday in Srinagar to discuss the matter. High-level meetings have also been planned with the Northern Army Commander and heads of other agencies to review the security situation and decide on the efficacy of removing AFSPA.
“The time has come for the revocation of laws (AFSPA and DAA), which were invoked in the state after militancy, from some areas of the state within the next few days,” Abdullah said addressing those gathered for a Police Commemoration Day function at Zewan near Srinagar.
He, however, did not name the areas from where these laws would be removed. “I am not in a position to name those areas at the moment,” he said.
The opposition to lifting of AFSPA stems from concerns of the Army, which is based on intelligence inputs and intercepts that it has received in the last 2-3 months. Around thirty odd militants have been killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in the last two months while attempting to cross over. Sources further say that intercepts indicate that infiltration attempts are likely to continue even during the winter months - a period when infiltration figures, otherwise, come down considerably.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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