First meeting of 5th working group on Kashmir tomorrow

New Delhi, Dec 11 (UNI) The first meeting of the fifth working group on Jammu and Kashmir, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to strengthen ties between the Centre and the state will be held here tomorrow.

The meeting will be presided over by Chairman of the group retired Justice Sageer Ahmed.

Dr Singh had constituted five working groups on various aspects for an all-round development of the state at the conclusion of the second Round table Conference in Srinagar on May 25.

Participants for the meeting include Union Water Resources Minister Saiffudin Soz, People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, state CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Assembly Speaker Tara Chand and state minister Haji Nissar Ali.

The National Conference (NC), the main opposition in Jammu and Kashmir, is boycotting the meeting. NC leader and former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather has also been invited for the meeting ''We will not take part in the meeting. We have already decided not to participate in any such meeting till there is a significant improvement in the rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir. There is no going back on that decision,'' Mr Rather told UNI in Srinagar.

Mr Rather, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, said the Prime Minister had pledged of zero tolerance for human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a news conference in Srinagar, on November one, NC president Omar Abdullah had said his party had decided to suspend its participation in any future round table conferences or working groups till there was significant improvement in the human rights situation in the state.

The first working group deals with confidence-building measures across segments of society in the state. It evolves measures to improve the condition of militancy-affected people, schemes to rehabilitate all orphans and widows, relaxation of conditions for persons who have foresworn militancy, effective rehabilitation policy for Kashmiri Pandits, return of Kashmiri youth from areas controlled by Pakistan and measures to protect and preserve the unique cultural and religious heritage of the state.

The second group will look onto strengthening relations across the Line of Control (LoC). It recommends measures to simplify procedures to facilitate travel across the LoC, increase goods traffic, expand people-to-people contact, including promotion of pilgrimage and group tourism and opening up new routes such as Kargil-Skardu.

The third group on economic development evolves a strategy that ensures balanced economic development and employment generation and balanced regional and sub-regional development within the state.

The fourth group deals with good governance and considers effective measures to increase responsiveness, accountability and transparency of administration, strengthening local self-government, effective monitoring of development programmes, instituting zero tolerance for human rights violations, strengthening the Right to Information and providing adequate security to all segments of society, particularly minority communities.

And the fifth group deals with strengthening relations between the state and the Centre. It would deliberate on matters relating to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Union, methods of strengthening democracy, secularism and the rule of law in the state. The group will also deliberate on effective devolution of powers among different regions to meet regional, sub-regional and ethnic aspirations.

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