With the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government working on various options to address the concerns of Kashmiris, chief minister Omar Abdullah feels that firm action on issues like amending or phased withdrawal of AFSPA and the resumption of political dialogue is an immediate need.
“Status quo is the only option not available to us,” was the prompt reply of the chief minister when asked what measures were being considered to address the issues. “When we talk about removing status quo, it means resumption of dialogue with all shades of opinion, a review of laws, measures to deal with unemployment whose figures have snowballed into six lakhs over the years,” he said. Mr Omar’s comments come at a time when the Central government is expected to hold a high-level meeting in the next few days. In the meeting, the Centre, in consultation with the state government, is likely to come out with measures to address some issues which may bring relief to the people of the state, sources said.