AFSPA: Omar seeks Antonys support

A day after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA from six districts of Jammu and Kashmir...

A day after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA from six districts of Jammu and Kashmir,Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday met Defence Minister A K Antony to secure his support for the state governments demand.

The meeting comes a day before the Cabinet Committee on Security is scheduled to meet to take a call on the state governments demand for lifting the AFSPA from six districts as well as deciding on a package for the Valley.

It is learnt that Antony,who has so far strongly opposed all attempts to dilute provisions of the Act,didnt give any categorical assurance to the beleaguered Chief Minister,who has been drawing flak for his handling of the ongoing crisis.

The Defence Minister is learnt to have informed Omar about the reservations expressed by the Army top brass against any tinkering with the AFSPA.

The Army does not want to function in a non-AFSPA environment. The defence establishment also feels that the timing of the move to withdraw the Act from some districts is not right as it could be viewed as being done under pressure from separatists.

The Army is against any move to dilute the AFSPA. It is of the view that while the decision to revoke the AFSPA from certain areas will finally be a government decision,the Act is crucial for the Armys functioning in an anti-terror environment.

Omar,on the other hand,has been trying to drum up support for his plea. He is seeking withdrawal of the AFSPA from six relatively militancy-free districts as well as starting a political dialogue with the separatists at the earliest.

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On Wednesday evening,Omar met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the still-to-be-finalised financial package for the Kashmir Valley.

Former Army Chief General VP Malik on Thursday said while the AFSPA could be revoked from parts of Jamp;K if the government felt things could be handled by the civil administration,the Army would not be able to carry out full-scale operations in these areas without the Act.

If the government feels that the civil administration is capable of handling things,then the AFSPA may be removed. But if they require the Army to come in and perform certain kinds of operations like searches,they will have to reimpose the AFSPA. The Act is a tool with the government to enable using the Army for its more serious missions, Malik said.

Stone-throwers kill 55-year-old

SRINAGAR: A 55-year-old man,Ghulam Mohammad Guroo of Maloora Sumbal,who was attacked by a group of stone-pelters on Srinagar8217;s outskirts on Wednesday evening succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. He is the third civilian to have lost his life to stone-pelting mobs this year. 8220;He was injured on his head and was admitted in SKIMS Hospital. This afternoon,he died,8221; a police spokesman said. ENS

Have sought probe into video clip,says PC

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NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said he had directed investigative agencies to establish authenticity of a video clip,purportedly showing uniformed personnel herding four naked men in Jammu and Kashmir,that has been doing the rounds on the internet.

On Thursday,The Indian Express had reported the story on the three-minute video clip on social networking sites Facebook and YouTube.

No one has been able to authenticate the video so far, Chidambaram told reporters. I have asked the investigative agencies to find out, he said.