While it appears the Central government plans to give the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir something special as a gift on Id-ul-Fitr, differences cropped up among leaders at the meeting of the Congress core group on Friday where the issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was also discussed.

With conflicting signals coming in after the core group discussion, the government may tread a cautious path when the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meets on Saturday. After the 90-minute meeting, attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources said, “Kashmir was discussed and the CCS is likely to meet tomorrow to take a final view.”
However, indications emerged from the meeting that the government is faced with taking a tough call as it wants to balance security needs vis-à-vis the state government’s demand for a partial withdrawal of the controversial AFSPA from the state. But speculation is rife in the corridors of power that the CCS has been convened to announce something for the troubled state on the occasion of Id.
The meeting was attended, among others, by Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union home minister P. Chidambaram and defence minister A.K. Antony. They all expressed divergent views on the contentious demand for a partial withdrawal of the AFSPA.
The AICC leader in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, and senior party leaders from the state Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saifuddin Soz were also present at the meeting as special invitees.
Mr Antony, it is believed, while reflecting the apprehensions of the armed force, opposed any decision to even partially withdraw the AFSPA. But Mr Chidambaram, it is understood, favoured the need for some political action to break the impasse in the Valley.
There was a view that the four districts of the state from where the withdrawal of the AFSPA is being demanded by chief minister Omar Abdullah have no Army presence, sources said. It was also pointed out that there is no guarantee that the stone-pelting, which has been on for three months, would stop after the AFSPA is withdrawn from these districts, the sources added.
Mr Chavan and Mr Azad also disfavoured any concessions as these could be seen as succumbing to pressure, the sources said. Mr Chidambaram told the meeting that the state government’s demands would have to be considered and something should be given.
In a significant move, the Prime Minister held a meeting with the chiefs of the three armed forces ahead of the core group meeting. But the PMO said the meeting had nothing to do with the Kashmir issue.
Sources said the government would not be averse to some political initiatives to restore normalcy in the Valley, but they did not elaborate. Some members of the Congress core group said the AFSPA should be made a discussion point before any decision is taken to dilute it or withdraw it.
Some core group members also felt that the five conditions set by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hardline leader of his faction of the Hurriyat Conference, which include demilitarisation, should be made points of deliberation and that he should come forward to discuss these.