Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said there was always scope for re-imposing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) if things became difficult after its withdrawal from certain areas of the State.
He said his stand on the AFSPA should not be mistaken as support for withdrawal of the Army from critical areas or from the LoC.
“I am not suggesting withdrawing the Army from J&K... The Army will continue to have a role in J&K as long as we have two hostile neighbours in Pakistan and China,” he said.
“Lessons”
Responding to a question, Abdullah said incidents in the last year in Jammu and Kashmir had taught him a lot of lessons. “I have learnt a lot. You cannot ignore even the smallest of incidents. You don't ignore anything, however insignificant it might seem.”
This year, there had been no major incident, which was a consequence of such “learning”, he said.
Talking about Pakistan, he said both Pakistan and India, as neighbours, were stuck with each other. “When we are stuck with each other, we might as well make most of the situation,” he said, adding there were instances when cooperation worked.
“I don't see why we have to be constantly battling.”
