All eyes on all-party meet on Kashmir crisis

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Union Government will be holding deliberations on the Kashmir crisis and weighing options at the crucial all party meeting here on Wednesday, Sep 15.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which met earlier to discuss the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), decided on Monday, Sep 13 to seek consesus on the matter from all political parties before taking a final decision on the violence in the state.

The withdrawal and dillution of the AFSPA will not be the only point of focus at the all-party meet, sources have revealed.

The government is first expected to examine the cause of the spurt in violence in the valley over the past three months and then weigh various options.

According to reports, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be making an opening statement, following which parties will be given a chance to air their views.

The Congress delegation will be led by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi while the Bharatiya Janata Party delegation led by veteran leader, LK Advani will include Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, and Arun Jaitley.

LK Advani, who on Tuesday, Sep 14 termed the situation in Kashmir as 'alarming', stands against the dillusion of AFSPA.

Slamming 'political solutions', the senior BJP leader said, "Instead of giving a fitting reply to the secessionists, the government has been demonising the security forces. There is continuing talk of diluting the AFSPA, and withdrawal of the forces! This is nothing but a surrender before Islamabad's strategy of breaking India"s post-1947 unity."

PDP leader, Mehbooba Mufti, who has boycotted several all-party meets in the past, has agreed to attend the meet after Sonia Gandhi reportedly made an appeal to her.

OneIndia News