JOIN USPDP chief rejects PM invite
Addressing a press conference here, Mehbooba said the prime minister had talked to her over phone on Saturday to request her to attend the meeting. “I told the prime minister that I am unable to take part in the meeting. I said he should intervene in the issue and defuse the tension in Kashmir,” she said.
She said the chief minister convened the all-party meeting when much damage has been already done at the ground level. “The meeting will not serve any purpose. Only some bigger initiative at the highest level can bring some change in the situation,” Mehbooba said. She demanded immediate withdrawal of the Army from the law and order duty.
In another development, legislators from the National Conference and the Congress expressed full faith in the leadership of the chief minister.
Newspapers did not hit the stands for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday as a mark of protest against the restrictions on the movement of media persons during curfew and the police attacks on them. However, on Sunday, owners and editors decided to resume the work following issuance of adequate number of curfew passes and the assurance by the police that the cases related to beating of journalists would be looked into. The government also agreed to withdraw the cases registered by the police against media persons.
Normal life remained paralysed in the Valley on Sunday in view of the general strike called by the hardline faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference. Undeclared curfew was imposed in some parts of Srinagar Old City, Anantnag and Pulwama following tension in these areas.