‘Shopian required better handling on our part’

Omar Abdullah has been tested thoroughly in his first six months as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Starting with the Shopian double rape and murder to the Baramulla killings, he has had to continuously grapple with unrest in the Valley. He outlined to DNA his strategies for peace and what he expects from separatists and the centre.

Disenchantment is brewing in the state going by the incidents of stone pelting. People say your govt has failed them. Why?
Forces inimical to a solution of the Kashmir problem have found a cheap and easy way to achieve their ends. No need to infiltrate any more. There are reports that some political parties are behind the stone pelting and people are being paid for this. What action have you taken? Until I have conclusive evidence, it will be wrong on my part to say things other than that two agencies are looking into the matter. I prefer that people who are indulging in this sort of violence spend 15 days in prison rather than remain injured for the rest of their lives or worse, making their families bury them. I have also tried a soft approach, like releasing people from prison, and reviewing the passport blacklist to give passports to close relatives of militants.

Your government failed in the face of the Shopian rape and murder case. Comment.
Shopian required better handling on our part. There are lessons to be learnt here. But there are also instances where the government was swift in its reaction and we avoided messy situations. A case in point is the Tangmarg incident, in which an old woman was kicked and she died at the hands of a policeman. If that was not handled properly, there could have been a problem. The Shopian case has also given an opportunity to your detractors to criticise with.
The mistake I made was sharing the initial findings with the press. But I had made it clear that the initial findings were not acceptable to the government and that is why we were going for a judicial inquiry.

Will the government take action against the police officers named by the Justice Jan commission?
It is for the special investigating team of the police to conduct its affairs as per high court directions. The government will ensure they are fulfilled in letter and spirit. Beyond that, let me be honest, it is not in the government’s domain; it is the court which is monitoring the case.

What happened to the popular demand of revoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act?
Separatists and other forces who want the act’s repeal should first allow us to create conditions conducive for that. The quieter things are, the easier it will it be for me to convince New Delhi that it is time to revoke AFSPA, but in a phased manner. We are holding discussions for this.

Why are talks between the centre and separatists, as promised in your election manifesto, not taking off?
The point I want to make to Mr P Chidambaram (home minister) and the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) is that the government of J&K has the role of a facilitator. The Hurriyat [Conference] does not have a problem with the state government, be it my or those of my predecessors. Their grievance is with the government of India. There is a need to engage the (separatist) leadership here.