AHN News Staff
Srinagar, India (AHN) - Chief Minister of the beleaguered Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, has written a complaining letter to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the Indian Army’s very public criticism of his government and constant interference into the state policy issues. Omar’s letter to the PM is in response to a public statement issued by the Army’s Northern Command.
The controversial statement was released by Lt. Col. Pradeep Kochhar, Public Relations Officer of the Army’s Northern Command and was later withdrawn after facing this backlash from the CM. In its statement, the Army has blamed Abdullah’s “political compulsion” to be responsible for government’s decision to reduce the presence of security forces from urban areas. The statement has also questioned “the talk of removing the AFSPA from Srinagar,” the AFSPA is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. While referring to a recent encounter with militants in the summer capital of the State, the Army had also asked “how will those in power justify to the people if there are a few more incidents like this?”
Clearly miffed at this, CM Abdullah said that instead of responding publicly to the statement, he had chosen to write to the PM asking the latter to “take up the matter seriously.” Unidentified sources within the police and intelligence sources in the State have also expressed fear that thinning of security forces in J&K may be imprudent, even in wake of the political compulsions that Omar must have been facing.
(Courtesy : www.allheadlinenews.com, 01/12/2010)
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