Amidst sharp differences over the demand for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from parts of Jammu and Kashmir and/or its dilution, the government on Wednesday decided to send an all-party delegation to “form an important input into the government’s evolving response on various issues related to Jammu and Kashmir”.

The decision to send the all-party delegation came after an all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Wednesday discussed the troubled state. The delegation, expected to leave for Jammu and Kashmir after Friday, would issue an “open invitation” to all political outfits, including the separatist Hurriyat Conference and non-government organisations, to hold talks with it. The delegation is expected to visit over two days both the Jammu and Valley regions of the state. It will then submit its feedback to the government, following which the CCS will meet again to take stock of the situation.
The all-party meeting again saw a clear difference of opinion on the withdrawal/dilution of the AFSPA. While PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, the National Conference (NC), JD(U) and the Left parties demanded the immediate revocation of the AFSPA, the BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP and the south parties asserted that “nothing should be done to demoralise the armed forces”.
The over five-hour all-party meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence was a remarkably peaceful one and saw consensus evolving over the need for internal dialogue within the framework of the Indian Constitution. Incidentally, neither Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor the PM referred to the AFSPA while addressing the meeting.
Though a consensus was slowly emerging over the failure of the state government in handling the situation in the Valley, no political outfit, including the NC’s bitter rival, the PDP, demanded the ouster of state chief minister Omar Abdullah during the meeting. NC chief and UPA ally Farooq Abdullah, emerging from the meeting, said on record that the “Prime Minister praised the Omar administration” and that he was “satisfied with the outcome of the meeting”. However, JD(S) chief Deve Gowda asked “why Omar Abdullah was missing from the crucial meet”. A statement issued at the meeting’s conclusion, while referring to the decision to send an all-party delegation to visit the Valley, stated: “The leaders agreed that the delegation should meet all sections of the people and gather all shades of opinion.” It added: “The government will take into account the deliberations at today’s meeting while considering measures and initiatives to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.” It concluded by saying that the “feedback received from the all-party delegation would form an important input into the government’s evolving response on various issues relating to the state”.
In his opening address, the Prime Minister set the tone of the meeting by saying the government was willing to hold talks with anybody or any group which adopts peaceful means. He, however, made it clear that a dialogue “cannot be initiated” by it “till the end of violence, some of which is orchestrated by certain groups”. The Prime Minister also asked the Omar Abdullah government “to create conditions congenial to a dialogue process”. The PM’s remarks come soon after the Centre said governance “suffered from a trust deficit”. Sources disclosed that barring a minor spat between NC and PDP leaders, the meeting did not witness any heated exchanges. BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, who has been adopting an aggressive posture on the Kashmir issue, appeared quite subdued as opposed to his party’s public stance on J&K as he rose to speak for the saffron forces. He opposed autonomy for Kashmir and withdrawal of the AFSPA though he studiously refrained from criticising Mr Omar Abdullah, whose removal the party had sought just days ago. Mr Gadkari said the country cannot ignore the fact that terrorism was being aided and abetted by elements in Pakistan and that the government should factor this in while devising its policies. The Shiv Sena adopted an aggressive stance and also opposed any tampering with the AFSPA.
In a 40-minute speech during the meeting, Ms Mehbooba Mufti claimed the “Omar administration was not accessible to the people”. She also accused the Omar Abdullah government of not consulting other parties and leaders on crucial issues and maintained that the “situation has worsened in the state”.
Countering her, NC leader Mohammed Shafi said those criticising the state government should recall what had happened during the regime of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. He said nearly 30 people were killed when Mufti Sayeed was sworn in as CM, adding that “nobody should try to politicise the situation in the Valley”. LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav felt the J&K governor should be a “political person, rather than a bureaucrat”. The Prime Minister, in an apparent reference to the alleged incident of desecration of the holy Quran by a person in the US, said, “All of us share a deep sense of distress over the unfortunate sequence of events during and after Id, particularly in the context of a reported act by a misguided person thousands of miles away.”
Union home minister P. Chidambaram, speaking at the meeting, said, “Everything will be done to honour the sentiments and feelings of the people of Kashmir within the framework of the Indian Constitution.”