Govt summons allies for Kashmir decision

Govt summons allies for Kashmir decision
AGENCIES

New Delhi, Feb 20: The Government will seek the opinion of all the political parties in the National democratic Alliance on the ceasefire situation in Jammu and Kashmir and take a decision on its extension of the truce at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) tomorrow.

While the meeting of the NDA partners will be held at noon, the crucial CCS meeting will take place in the evening, official sources said here today.

This is the first time a formal meeting of the NDA partners is being held on this important issue and their views will be considered while extending the ceasefire in the state for the third time.

According to highly placed sources, there have been divergent views within the government on the issue of giving a further extension to the ceasefire. The meeting is being held in order to arrive at a consensus.

The sources said if at all the ceasefire is extended, the CCS may put a ‘rider’. The ‘rider’ may be incorporated in the wake of intelligence agencies and the Army’s reservations on certain issues pertaining to the extension.

The rider could be in the form of a pre-condition for having discussions with separatist groups or an appeal to step up the pace of the peace process.The sources said the Army expressed reservations in view of the fact the number of foreign mercenaries in the Valley has increased sharply and they are moving about freely. Because of the continuing ceasefire, the Army was finding it difficult to take action against these mercenaries, who have stepped up their activities.

Even political parties have expressed differences on continuing with the ceasefire. Dr Abdullah has openly opposed the extension while BJP president Bangaru Laxman is also of the opinion that the government should not continue with the ceasefire in view of the presence of foreign mercenaries in the Valley.The extension of the ceasefire could pave the way for the initiation of a dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference and the militant groups, the sources said.

The Hurriyat Conference and other separatist groups have been in touch with several prominent personalities who are actively involved in Track II diplomacy.Several Kashmiri leaders including former Union Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh have strongly advocated that the ceasefire should be backed by concrete steps by the Centre for opening direct channels of communication with various groups to end violence and usher an era of peace in the Valley.

Hurriyat, JKDFP men freed

Srinagar: Five top Hurriyat Conference leaders, detained and placed under house arrest over the weekend were released late last night, while Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) chief Shabir Ahmad Shah and his six colleagues, arrested for violating curfew restriction on Saturday, were let off today.