Antony to head High Power Committee on J and K: PMO

New Delhi, Mar 30 (UNI) The Centre today announced the setting up of a committee headed by Defence Minister A K Antony on Jammu and Kashmir as part of a three-fold mechanism to deal with the demands for withdrawal of troops and repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

Under the mechanism, an Expert Panel headed by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt would look into the demand for troops withdrawal and a Review Committee would review the Act in question.

The High Power Committee would be empowered to take decisions on the recommendations made by the panel and the review committee, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

The move comes in the wake of the meetings PDP chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and others.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had also met Dr Singh and Ms Gandhi following PDP's threat to pull out of the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir to press for its demands.

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