By IANS,
New Delhi : The contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) will be revoked “one day” from Jammu and Kashmir, former state chief minister and union minister Farooq Abdullah said here Friday.
“AFSPA will be revoked one day,” the union minister for new and renewable energy said when asked by an IANS correspondent whether the law that gives sweeping powers to the armed forces in fighting militants should be revoked from the state.
Asked what his views were on the matter, Farooq Abdullah, the National Conference chief, said: “The chief minister will decide.”
To a question whether his son, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would take his advice, the senior Abdullah laughed and walked away.
Farooq Abdullah, who was thrice chief minister of the state, was visiting the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy stall at the India International Trade Fair here Friday.
Omar Abdullah has been persisting with his demand partial lifting of AFSPA from the state. He has visited the national capital to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and the army chief, General V.K. Singh, to discuss the matter.
At a cabinet meeting in Jammu Thursday, Omar Abdullah offered to amend the Ranbir Penal Code, which is special to the state, to bring it in line with the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC) to provide protective cover to the armed forces in counter-insurgency operations, sources said.