New Delhi,February 7 (Scoop News) – Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister,.Omar Abdullah today said that the initiative taken by the Government of India for talks with moderate Hurriyat leaders has been a significant move. “For achieving a lasting and enduring solution to the problems in the state political interaction is imperative”, he added.Asserting that political discussions are inescapable for seeking solution to the problem of militancy, Omar emphasized for working out pragmatic political solutions to the problems being faced in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the Chief Ministers’ Conference on Internal Security here, Omar said that issues with roots in politics mostly underpin internal security and even armed insurgencies are for political space. “This being the case the most obvious approach would be to seek appropriate political solution for political problems”, he said adding that a timely solution to a problem would restrict it from ballooning into a full-fledged law and order or internal security situation.
Advocating for reviewing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in
“While there has been significant improvement in the over all internal security situation in the state during the last three years”, he said adding that we cannot at this point in time afford to become complacent and let down the guard. He appreciated the cooperation and synergy between various security forces and J&K State Police and said that the overall situation will continue to improve further considerably. “However the increase in infiltration and attempts to infiltrate requires vigil at the borders. Unless we continue with two pronged strategy of preventing the entry of terrorists from across the border and neutralizing those who succeed in entering the State, the hard fought gains made in recent years will be in danger of being dissipated”, he maintained.
Omar said that in order to encourage the return to normal life of more militants including those stranded across the LoC or borders, a new surrender and rehabilitation policy is under the active consideration of the State and Central governments.
The Chief Minister said that
“We are continuing recruitment in J&K Police so that the entire sanctioned strength is filled as quickly as possible. This is particularly important for much greater responsibility of handling law and order now taken over by the State Police. Our intelligence gathering capacities are being improved further and the State Police is fully equipped and capable of effectively responding to terror situation. These capacities were evident in the very effective manner in which the militant attack at Lal Chowk,
The Chief Minister said that while the intensity of the insurgency has declined in the state the incidence of law and order problems particularly street violence and stone pelting at police has increased requiring completely different approach to deal with this kind of situation. He emphasized the need for upgrading the skills of state police to handle such law and order situations more effectively. “The traditional methods employed for crowd control require improvement in the light of our experience in
Omar complemented the Home Minister for regularly organizing these conferences after every six months and added that these conferences have proved extremely useful in establishing a clear policy agenda for the country as a whole with respect to internal security. “It is also heartening to note the broad consensus that has emerged between the Centre and different States about how internal security problems could be handled. This is all the more remarkable considering the range of national and regional political parties involved in these discussions”, he said.
“Given the wide range of political positions represented in these conferences, it is absolutely essential that the opportunity to workout a national consensus on policy and strategic issues relating to internal security be grasped”, he said describing these conferences most appropriate fora for the purpose.
Leave Your Comments