At an all-party meeting called to seek the opinion of political representatives on Jammu and Kashmir governance, Governor N.N. Vohra was advised by regional parties against any “hot pursuit policy.”
Mr. Vohra, who chaired the meeting in Srinagar on Friday, in turn, asked the parties to play a role in “motivating the youth to shun the path of violence.”
Vijay Kumar reviews s ecurity
The day also saw retired IPS officer K. Vijay Kumar, who assumed office as adviser to Mr. Vohra, reviewing the security situation in the Valley at a meeting attended by Director General of Police S.P. Vaid, the Director-General of Prisons, the special DG and other officers, an official spokesman said.
A Raj Bhawan spokesman said the issues of internal security, law and order, development, educational problems, Amarnath Yatra and the current political scenario were discussed at the all-party meeting.
Mr. Vohra sought the cooperation of all stakeholders for the restoration of peace and tranquillity, the spokesman said.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, representing his party, the National Conference, and other parties, including the Panthers Party, called for an immediate dissolution of the Assembly and a conducive atmosphere for early elections, sources said.
Mr. Abdullah urged the Governor to take confidence-building measures and ensure that there was zero-tolerance towards human rights violations.
Panthers Party’s Harsh Dev Singh said, “No political party or political combination has the number to stake claim to power. Therefore, the Assembly should be dissolved.”
However, both the People's Democratic Party (PDP) with 28 seats and the BJP with 25 seats in the 87-seat Assembly maintained silence on the issue.
Congress alleges misrule by BJP and PDP
The Congress alleged that the 'misrule' due to “ the unholy alliance between the PDP and the BJP had caused damage to the State,” the sources said.
However, while the Congress favoured fresh elections, the party lhas eft the decision to the Governor, Pradesh Congress Committee president G.A. Mir said.
Democratic Nationalist Party chief G.H. Mir said the main aim of the all-party meeting was to find ways to improve the situation in the State and all political parties gave inputs on how to do it.
“The parties suggested measures to restore peace and offered to support any initiative towards achieving this goal. Violence and killings will not achieve anything,” he said.
Other leaders who attended the meeting included BJP State president Sat Sharma, PDP’s Dilawar Mir and CPI(M) State secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik. Independent MLA Engineer Rashid claimed he was not invited.
Mehbooba on Kathua
Former Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who also had a separate meeting with Mr. Vohra, raised the issues of Article 35(A) and the Kathua rape and murder case.
In her first meeting with Mr. Vohra since demitting the office earlier this week, Ms. Mufti reportedly told Mr. Vohra that she hoped cases related to the 35-A and Article 370, pending before the courts, “will be pursued with the same zest”.
“The Kathua case should be followed seriously and professionally so that the culprits are punished as per the law ,” she requested Mr. Vohra.
“My party is hopeful that under Mr. Vohra’s command, the things in the State will not be allowed to go out of control and the situation will be approached with care and caution,” said Ms. Mufti.
Reviewing the security situation, Mr. Vijay Kumar stressed on close synergy between security agencies for maintaining peace and called for better security management of prisons viz-a-viz modern gadgetry and infrastructure, the official spokesman said.
Mr. Kumar, a 1975 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, had served in the Kashmir Valley as Inspector General of the Border Security Force in 1998-2001 when the force was actively involved in counter-militancy operations.
He was till recently holding the post of senior security adviser in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(with inputs from PTI )
