Troop cut, irreducible minimum for J

Srinagar, July 12 (UNI) Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said troop reduction and scraping of special powers given to armed forces to deal with what used to be unusual situation in the state was an irreducible minimum for carrying forward the people's agenda of peace and prosperity.

Addressing a public meeting at Zainakote, Batamaloo here, he said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir while rejecting the gun culture have reposed full faith in the democratic and political processes and institutions of the state and the country.

The PDP patron said the strong yearning for peace must now be reciprocated with measures that bring the people completely out of the mentality of siege and provide them with a level-playing field to fully assert themselves politically.

Mr Sayeed said the fact that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have made a historic contribution in stabilising the situation in the state and in strengthening the peace factor, has to be recognised.

''The people led the peace process from the front and provided a new opportunity to the huge human mass of the sub-continent and their leaders,'' he added.

The former Chief Minister said this contribution should be essentially matched by tangible steps that lead to the permanent resolution of the problems of the people of the state.

Addressing the gathering, senior PDP leader Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari said troop reduction and revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) were the basic ingredients of the peace process as it was not only his party's demand but also that of the people as well.

He said the quarters accusing the PDP of playing politics over the issue were in fact themselves resorting to petty politics.

''They are alien to the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,'' said Moulvi Ansari, the prominent Shia cleric of the Kashmir valley.

UNI