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Delay in package has disappointed youth, says Omar
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the delay in announcing the package for the valley had caused "disappointment" among the youth, who again took to the streets on the day of Eid. Toufiq Rashid reports.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the delay in announcing the package for the valley had caused "disappointment" among the youth, who again took to the streets on the day of Eid.
However, Abdullah said that was not the only factor responsible for "what happened today".
The protesting youth on Saturday set on fire some public properties including the crime branch office and a police post at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar.
"This sort of violence is a setback for starting a political process ... I was in Delhi to push that political process and try and get the concessions for the Armed Forces Special Powers Act," he said.
The chief minister said the state government had allowed a march to Lal Chowk (in the central part of Srinagar) after an assurance from moderate separatists such as Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik that the protests would be peaceful.
"They did not speak to me but a close confidant of the Mirwaiz called my office, seeking permission for the march. They said they'd proceed towards Lal Chowk, do half an hour of sit-in and then leave. I allowed the march, they were not stopped anywhere, but what was the result!" said the chief minister.
However, the Mirwaiz denied this. "All this is baseless. Nobody called the chief minister or his office. When I announced the march, even my own political colleagues did not know I would do that."
