PM holds all party meeting on Kashmir

New Delhi, Sept 15 (PTI) With no respite in the unrest in
Kashmir Valley, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on
Wednesday held consultations with leaders of political parties
on steps to defuse the situation amid demands for dilution of
the contentious AFSPA on which there is no consensus yet.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has so
far stayed away from official deliberations on the crisis
which has engulfed Kashmir for the last three months, attended
the crucial all party meeting with its President Mehbooba
Mufti heading the delegation.
Ahead of the meeting at prime ministers's Race Course
residence, PMO sources said the aim of the exercise was to see
how much consensus could be built and how to restart dialogue
with different sections of people.
Sources in the government said that diluting the
provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)
was certainly not the single-point agenda of the meeting. BJP
is firmly opposed to any dilution of this Act and the Army has
also voiced reservations.
Besides, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is also
UPA Chairperson and Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the
meeting is also being attended by top BJP leaders L K Advani,
Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, CPI(M) General
Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI's D Raja. Mulayam Singh Yadav,
Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav represented SP, RJD and JD-U
respectively.
A five-member ruling National Conference delegation led
by party President Farooq Abdullah took part in the talks. The
NC delegation has decided to vigorously pursue the revocation
of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and restoration of
autonomy to the state.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah did not attend the meeting.
The NC, in a veiled threat, has spoken of
reconsidering its alliance with Congress if its demands were
rejected. "We will not repeat the mistake of 2000," Chaudhry
Mohammad Ramzan, who is part of the NC delegation, said ahead
of the meeting.
The party had continued to be part of the then ruling
NDA even after the Centre rejected the autonomy resolution
passed by the State Assembly, where National Conference
enjoyed two-third majority.
Mehbooba told PTI last night although the meeting has
been called "little too late", a beginning has to be made for
restoring normalcy in the valley and also to address the
larger issue of Kashmir.
She expressed the hope that positive decisions will
be taken at the all party meeting tomorrow, which will be
implemented on ground.
Sources in the PDP claimed the party's decision to join
the efforts of Centre in finding a solution came after some
senior Central Congress leaders persuaded the Muftis.
Sonia Gandhi had also called Mehbooba Mufti to "convey
Eid greetings" on September 11, the sources said.
PTI MS
AHM


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