CM to demand making Interlocutors’ report public
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 9: With 2012 peaceful summer in Kashmir and Amarnath yatra security arrangements high on agenda, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is arriving here tomorrow morning on a one day visit of Jammu, the winter capital of the State, during which he would also review the affairs of Congress party, the major coalition partners in Omar Abdullah led coalition Government in the State.
Governor NN Vohra, who is in New Delhi, K Skandan, Joint Secretary (Kashmir) in Ministry of Home Affairs and Additional Director of Intelligence Bureau, Rajiv Kapoor would accompany the Union Home Minister during his one day trip to Jammu from New Delhi.
Authoritative sources said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who would host lunch for the Union Home Minister at his official residence, would take up the issue of making Interlocutors’ report on Kashmir public for debate and discussion followed by its implementation to ensure that it didn’t meet the fate of many such previous reports.
Sources said repetition of peaceful summer of 2011 in 2012 after three consecutive summer unrest in 2008, 2009 and 2010 in the Kashmir valley would dominate security review meeting, which would be attended by top brass of civil administration, police, para-military forces and Intelligence agencies of the State including Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Home Secretary BR Sharma, Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda, Special DG CRPF, J&K, Anirudh Uppal, IG BSF Jammu Frontiers, AK Jain, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Samoon, IGP Kashmir SM Sahai, IGP Jammu Dilbagh Singh, IGP CID B Srinivas and heads of other Central Police Forces and Intelligence agencies operating in the State.
The security review meeting that was expected to last at least two hours would be held at banquet hall of the Chief Minister’s residence.
Besides Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani would be present in the meeting.
Sources said the Home Minister would devise a strategy to ensure a peaceful summer in the Kashmir valley in 2012 like the previous year of 2011. It may be mentioned that more than 100 people were killed in summer unrest in the Valley in 2010.
Recruitments drives in para-military forces, police, State Government and private sector across the country were among a host of options to engage youth in different activities so that they were not lured by the separatists, sources said adding that the security review meeting would work on various strategies to tackle separatists and militants.
Para-military, police and Intelligence agencies would give a detailed review of security scenario on the International Border (IB) in Jammu and internal security across the State on militancy front, which had seen a massive decline all over the State during past couple of years. No successful infiltration attempt has been allowed on the border, sources said.
Upcoming Baba Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir Himalayas from June 25 to August 2 would also figure in security review. Sources said the State police would seek additional para-military forces from the Union Home Ministry, like previous years, for deployment on highways and two tracks of Pahalgam and Baltal to ensure smooth pilgrimage.
Sources said the Chief Minister would take up the issue of the report of Interlocutors with Mr Chidambaram. Omar would stress that the report should be made public for debate and discussions of all sections of society and implementation of recommendations.
The report, prepared by the Interlocutors-Dileep Padgaonkar, a noted journalist, Prof Radha Kumar, an academician and MM Ansari, a former Information Commissioner after an year long tour of the State, had been submitted to the Union Home Minister in October last year. However, despite lapse of six months, it has not been officially made public so far though its contents occasionally continued to appear in both national and regional media, which were neither denied nor confirmed by anyone.
In the just concluded budget session of the Legislature, Omar had demanded that report of the Interlocutors should be made public for debate.
The Chief Minister would also take up the issue of partial revocation of Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Srinagar and Badgam districts of J&K and removal of more bunkers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Srinagar in a phased manner as situation was gradually improving in the State.
Sources said Mr Chidambaram on his arrival at Jammu Airport at 9 am from New Delhi would straightway fly to Sanji Chhat and trek remaining three kilometers on foot to reach holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi ji to pay obeisance. Governor NN Vohra, who happened to be chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), would accompany him.
The Home Minister would be briefed on security and other arrangements made for the pilgrims at Bhawan, 13 kilometer track and Katra.
He would return to Jammu and have two hour long security review meeting at the Chief Minister’s official resident. He would also have lunch with the Chief Minister.
Mr Chidambaram would reach the State Guest House in the afternoon where he was scheduled to meet a Congress delegation comprising PCC (I) president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, Lal Singh and Madan Lal Sharma, both MPs, selected MLAs and MLCs and majority of top office bearers of the PCC (I).
He would also inter-act with a delegation of All Party Sikh Co-ordination Committee.
The Home Minister would leave for Dehradun, Uttarakhand in the evening where he was schedule to address a function at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration on April 11.
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