By IANS
Jammu : Jammu and Kashmir's ruling coalition partner Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday asked the central government to relax the "control" of armed forces on the internal security of the state.
Addressing public meetings in the frontier district of Poonch, Mufti said the term "relaxation of control" meant "reassessing the role of the armed forces and revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)".
Drawing a contrast between the PDP rule and that of the Congress in the same multi-party coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, she said since the October 2002 assembly elections efforts were on to strengthen the state's democratic institutions by reinforcing people's confidence and trust in them.
However, after November 2005, when Ghulam Nabi Azad took over as the chief minister, things started showing a reverse trend, Mufti added.
"The political leadership of the country must respond to this worrying situation with urgent remedial measures," she said, warning that any delay would only complicate the issues.