No rift over AFSPA: Antony

Key separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, center wearing cap, and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik, center left, participate in a protest rally after Eid al-Fitr prayers in Srinagar, India, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010. Police fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who attacked a police post and burned government offices in Kashmir on Saturday, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest Indian rule in the Himalayan region, officials said. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Defence Minister A.K. Antony has said that there are no differences in the Cabinet over the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), as applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is no serious difference of opinion in the Cabinet. There are various viewpoints, but the government's decision will be final,” Mr. Antony, here to attend a function, said on Sunday. All talk about a rift over the issue was nothing but media speculation, he asserted.

Describing the situation in Kashmir as quite disturbing, the Minister said the Cabinet Committee on Security would meet on Monday to discuss related issues.