Interlocutor Ansari bats for Omar on lifting AFSPA

New Delhi: Backing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, a Jammu and Kashmir interlocutor MM Ansari today said Centre must give “full support” to the plan for partial revocation of AFSPA in the border state at the earliest to reduce any “trust deficit”. MM Ansari, who was part of the three-member central panel of interlocutors that went into finding permanent solution to problems in Kashmir, also said the Army should leave implementation of civilian activities to the state government. The former Central Information Commissioner, whose panel submitted its report on October 12, said Centre needed to support Omar in his endeavour for partial lifting of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). “This way we can kill two birds with one stone. The trust deficit with New Delhi will reduce drastically and the general perception about governance deficit would also be addressed simultaneously,” Ansari told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_137504” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=" Interlocutor MM Ansari has said the Centre must give “full support” to the plan for partial revocation of AFSPA. “]  [/caption] “It was high time to show that democracy existed as much as in the state as in any part of the country,” he added. Omar is pressing for lifting AFSPA from parts of J&K while Army has voiced reservations on the move. Touching upon Army’s role in civilian works, Ansari said, “Operation Sadhbhavna of the Army under which they involve in educational and health spheres should be left to the state government.” Ansari said during his meetings with the Army commanders, he had suggested that these camps should be stopped all together especially in suburban areas as this projected a negative image of the state government. “One can understand such facilities in far-flung and border areas but not in suburban areas and the logic given by the Army is not convincing. If they have to do something for poor, let them come to slum clusters in Delhi or Mumbai, we have lot of them,” he added. PTI