Omar seeks 30,000 new Kashmiri cops to replace CRPF

NEW DELHI - Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Saturday called for induction of 30,000 Kashmiri men and women into the state police to enable them to progressively take over law and order responsibilities from the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.

Unemployment was the biggest problem facing the state with 5.9 lakh youth registered at the state’s district employment centres, Abdullah said in his address at the National Development Council meeting here.

Referring to the recent violent incidents in Kashmir valley, he said it had caused untold pain and agony but said the incidents had been “instigated by forces inimical to peace”.

“While our hearts go out to the families who have lost their near and dear ones, it must be recognised that such incidents are a disturbing demonstration of the continued instigation of innocent people by forces inimical to peace.”

Abdullah also called for amendments to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and re-orientation of the security forces to deal with the changing security situation in the state.

“Amendments to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and reorientation of the security forces to the changing security situation in the state will create the necessary enabling environment for restoring, to a certain extent, the pride and self-esteem of our people,” he said.

Abdullah said that he was aware that pursuing “an agenda of principled politics and good governance was not an easy task”.

He said that Jammu and Kashmir was not a problem of economics but politics and called upon the central government to start an internal dialogue with diverse political opinion in the state.