Omar Abdullah has 'dumped' demand for AFSPA revocation: PDP

Opposition PDP today accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of "dumping" his demand for revocation of AFSPA and said his shifting stand has reduced the CM's post to a mockery.
"The latest observation of the Chief Minister indicates that he (Omar) has finally given up on it as (his) life's mission. The shifting stand on the revocation of AFSPA has reduced the Chief Minister's position to a mockery of the system in which we operate," PDP chief spokesperson Nayeem Akhtar said here.
Omar had said yesterday, "I won't talk about AFSPA right now. Last 10 days, we have seen two incidents which have given evidence both for presence and revocation of AFSPA."

He was referring to the killing of two youths in north Kashmir on Sunday and the attack on an Army convoy in Srinagar which left eight soldiers dead on June 24.
Akhtar said Omar had announced revocation of AFSPA "within two or three days" on October 21, 2011, in the aftermath of "(NC worker) Haji Yousuf's death in suspicious circumstances."
"After that, the Chief Minister has been regularly diluting his stand on this important issue," he said.

The PDP leader said Omar continued to raise AFSPA as a slogan to cover his "failure on every front" and has apparently "dumped" it for good now.

Reiterating PDP's stance on draconian laws like AFSPA, Akhtar said their revocation was a prerequisite to any progress on the political resolution of Jammu and Kashmir problem.
He said strengthening of democratic and civil institutions without interference from security forces was inescapable for ensuring rule of law in the state.