All-party meet fails state again

NEW DELHI: Two days of sustained deliberations with various groups in Jammu and Kashmir to resolve the Amarnath controversy has not made the all-party delegation any wiser. Chances of evolving a consensus on the issue seem to be dim as leaders failed to arrive at any conclusion in a meeting called by home minister Shivraj Patil here on Monday.

The leaders decided to meet again on Tuesday to try and prepare a final report based on their J&K tour and suggest a workable formula to break the impasse. Sources said serious differences persisted on accepting the two-point formula suggested by BJP leader Arun Jaitley in Srinagar on Sunday. It entailed accepting the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Act enacted by the J&K Assembly in 2000 and subsequent interpretation of its functions by the state high court in 2005. Prime minister Manmohan Singh has convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday.

However, the killing of Hurriyat Conference leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz in police firing in Kashmir led the PM  to convene an emergency meeting late in the evening attended by Patil, former chief Ghulam Nabi Azad and home ministry officials among others.
a_anand@dnaindia.net