Government of India unclear on interlocutors report; Chief Minister Omar Abdullah: Youth in favour of political solution to Kashmir; Washington to have specialist on Kashmir; Militants killed in Pulwama
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    • January 30-February 05

    According to reports, uncertainty seems to be looming large on the fate of the Kashmir Interlocutors’ reports as even the Union Home Ministry seems to be unsure as to when would it be made public and a follow up action taken. A similar situation prevails on the issue of partial withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some areas of Jammu and Kashmir. 1

    In another development, according to reports, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir are strongly in favor of a political solution to the Kashmir problem and the state government is working in that direction. Referring to a study conducted by Delhi-based Institute for Research on India and International Studies, he said a majority of the state’s youth have rejected the gun culture. The study showed that a vast majority of Kashmiri youths were disillusioned with mainstream democratic politics in the state with 50 percent of them having never voted and only 5 percent of them joining political parties. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the good thing in the report is that it has exposed many good things about role of media and how it influences the opinions in the valley on different subjects. 2

    In a significant development, according to reports, the US Embassy at New Delhi is appointing a political specialist on Kashmir to keep the envoys updated on developments in the region.
    This is for the first time that the US Embassy is appointing an expert on Kashmir who shall be fully conversant in the major issues affecting Indo-Pak relations and India’s policy in Kashmir. 3

    In other developments, according to Police sources, two militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed in a gunfight with forces in the south Kashmir district of Pulwama. A joint party of soldiers from 55-RR and SOG personnel cordoned off Wadoora village and launched searches. Militants present in the house of Abdul Hameed Shah opened fire on the search party which was retaliated, triggering a gunfight. However, forces suspended the operation during the night. Militants resorted to indiscriminate firing and tried to break the cordon. However, they were trapped and after a fierce gun-battle two militants were killed. 4

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