‘Armed Forces Act not to be booted’

SRINAGAR: J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday punctured the PDP’s demilitarization balloon saying there will be no reduction of the troops even if his government falls.

“Safety and security of people is paramount for my government. There will be no compromise on this issue, no matter if my government falls,” Azad said.

The PDP and Congress are at loggerheads since the last one month over the issue of demilitarisation and withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). PDP has been demanding that these issues should be discussed in the cabinet so that a consensus is built on it.

PDP leader and finance minister Tariq Hamid Qarra recently issued a veiled threat to pull out of the state government, saying they would prefer people rather than power.

He threatened to boycott the future cabinet meeting as well unless their demands are met.

Taking the PDP head on, Azad said he would not succumb to the demands which are aimed at gaining political mileage. “We will not succumb to the pressures for political reasons”, he said.

Emboldened by the rejection of PDP’s demand by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister AKAntony, he said the Centre has already cleared their stand on the issue. 

He cautioned the Kashmiri people against falling prey to political gimmicks by leaders.