Omar unsatisfied after meeting Guv, demands statement from govt on Kashmir situation

Srinagar, Aug 03: Amid heightened tension in Jammu and Kashmir former chief minister Omar Adbullah said that the Governor Satya Pal Malik has assured them that the Article 35A won't be touched.

Panic has gripped Jammu and Kashmir as speculations grew in the Valley about some possible major decisions regarding the state's special status.

"We have no idea what is happening. So a delegation in which I was there too met the governor and we asked him why this is happening. We also asked him about rumours of Article 35A and Article 370 being removed... to which he assured that no such thing is happening," Omar Abdullah said after the meeting.

"Governor is not the final word on Jammu and Kashmir. The final word on J&K is the Government of India.Therefore, more than what Governor tells us publicly, I definitely would like to hear from Govt of India publicly that there is nothing people have to worry about," he said.

"On Monday, when Parliament starts functioning, Centre should give a statement on what was the need for the order to end yatra and evacuate tourists. We want to hear it from the Parliament that there is no need for people to be afraid," he added.

Abdullah's meeting with the governor comes a day after an unprecedented advisory was issued by the Jammu and Kashmir state government, asking Amarnath Yatra pilgrims and tourists to "immediately" cut short their stay in the Kashmir Valley and leave the state.

However, Governor Satya Pal Malik said "unnecessary panic" was being created by linking the curtailment of Amarnath Yatra with other issues, and requested political leaders to ask their supporters to maintain calm and do not believe in "exaggerated rumours".

Tension gripped Jammu following the deployment of 10,000 troops dispatched the week before - in what the centre claimed was a security drive.