PC, Antony differ over AFSPA

While the Army wants no dilution of the Act enforced in Kashmir since 1990, Home Minister P Chidambaram is in favour of amending the AFSPA.Both Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and separatist leaders in the state have been demanding the withdrawal of the AFSPA, which they say has been used to kill innocent civilians. Defence Minister A K Antony said on Sunday that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) would discuss on Monday the "continuous tension" in the state, which “is causing anxiety.”

The minister, who is understood to have different views on the subject from Chidambaram, denied claims of divisions within the cabinet over withdrawal of armed forces act. He said the AFSPA would feature in Monday's CCS meeting.

"Continuous tension in Kashmir is causing concern to all. The Cabinet Committee on Security will discuss the situation in Kashmir seriously", Antony told newspersons  on the sidelines of a function.

The UPA government is expected to announce a series of measures, including the release of prisoners and a new  economic package on Monday,  to arrest the spiralling of violence in the valley. 

Asked about reports of differences between the Defence and Home ministries over the AFSPA in Kashmir, he said "there is no serious differences in the cabinet. When the matter was discussed there were various points of view. The government is one. When the government takes a decision it is final", he said.

"We don't discuss in public the matters discussed in the CCS. The reports regarding differences  in media over the AFSPA were imaginative," he said. Abdullah has met  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh twice on a one-on-one basis  in less than 30 days and repeatedly  pressed for the withdrawal of the AFSPA from the areas in the valley  which were seemingly  less terror-infested but volatile.

The chief minister has been under increasing criticism for letting the situation slip during the last three months and losing control over his administration. The Centre is worried over deteriorating law and order in the valley and is expected to announce "a Kashmir package" in coming week to pacify and check the public unrest in the state.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Sunday strongly opposed any move to withdraw the AFSPA from any parts of the J & K "under pressure" from the separatists.A meeting of  the party attended by all top leaders, including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, and Venkaiah Naidu, others discussed the current situation in the state and the alleged government moves to "appease" the separatists.