Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday made a public apology for the “Shopian mistakes” and promised such incidents would not be repeated. He also urged upon the Centre to initiate Kashmir-specific dialogue with Islamabad.

“Some mistakes were committed at administrative and government level in the Shopian incident,” Abdullah said in his Independence Day speech at the highly fortified Bakshi stadium. “I apologise for it,” he said.

The apology from the Chief Minister has come at a time when the double rape-and-murder case has taken a new twist after the Central Forensic Scientific Laboratory (CFSL) said the vaginal swabs taken from the victims were fudged, thus leaving the Special Investigation Team (SIT) clueless about the incident.

Omar said his government had learnt many lessons from the Shopian case and promised that such “mistakes” would not be repeated. “Those responsible for Shopian crime would be brought before the law for severe punishment,” he said. “Our government will not hide any information and dig out the culprits in a transparent manner to give justice to the victims and affected family.”

At a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there was no space for separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar urged the Centre to initiate Kashmir-specific talks with Pakistan for resolution of the issue.

He, however, didn’t mention talks with the separatist leaders in the Kashmir valley. The National Conference, in its poll manifesto, has mentioned that the party will facilitate talks between the Central government and separatists. “I appeal to the Central government to start immediate dialogue with Pakistan for the resolution of Kashmir issue,” he said. He also advocated the opening of trade routes across the Line of Control (LoC) and asked the Centre to discuss it with Pakistan.