Centre likely to announce CBMs on Kashmir next week

Government is likely to announce "graduated step-by-step" confidence building measures next week for Jammu and Kashmir which will include release of those apprehended in the recent stone-pelting incidents in the Valley and a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the state.

Government is likely to announce "graduated step-by-step" confidence building measures next week for Jammu and Kashmir which will include release of those apprehended in the recent stone-pelting incidents in the Valley and a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the state.

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Top sources in Government said that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting next week during which the visit of All Party Delegation to the state would be discussed.

A day after returning from Jammu as well as the Kashmir Valley, leaders of the delegation had a meeting with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram who led the team on the two-day visit.

The sources said that the delegation and the government was of the firm opinion that "structured, graduated step-by-step" CBMs were need to be taken in the state.

The state government has already talked about release of stone-pelters arrested and also re-deployment of forces in Kashmir to bring down its presence in civilian areas, the sources said.

The CCS is also likely to discuss the demands made by the J-K government for withdrawing AFSPA from areas like Srinagar and Jammu cities.

Emerging after an hour-long meeting, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said "we are very happy that ever since we have come back, no major incident has taken place.

"We think both the state and central governments have to take a number of CBMs to generate confidence among the people and also to foil the game plan of those who wanted to create disturbance."

Yechury said that there were some suggestions made to the government like release of children who were detained and have no serious charges and action against those who committed excesses.

"There is also a need to take CBMs for Jammu and Ladakh," he said while emphasising on having a complete integrity of all the three regions of the state.

A 36-member All Party delegation arrived in the Kashmir Valley on Monday during which a few leaders including Yechury and Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan met separatist leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yaseen Malik.

The BJP had, however, distanced itself from the move of some leaders of the delegation having separate meetings with separatists.

However, Yechury, who met Geelani, had said that they had put forward the desire to meet the separatists before the delegation and there was no opposition from the BJP.

He said the whole idea of being a part of the team was to tell the people of Kashmir that "we are not going to discriminate and would like to meet everyone."