High-level talks over AFSPA today

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is meeting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at his 7, Race Course Road residence on Monday to discuss the removal of controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain parts of the state.

The J&K CM is also scheduled to hold a series of meetings with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram later today to apprise them of his government’s stand on the controversial act.

Ahead of today’s meeting, Abdullah yesterday met Defence Minister AK Antony and Army Chief VK Singh to press for early removal of the Act from certain parts of the state.

During his meeting with Antony, Omar presented his case for removal of AFSPA from at least from four districts -- two each in Kashmir and Jammu, official sources said.

While Antony conveyed the reservations of the Army over such a move, Omar emphasised the need to translate the promises made by the National Conference-Congress alliance on ground and reward the people of the state for maintaining a peaceful year.

To drive home his point, Omar noted that his state has seen a boom in the tourism industry with nearly 13 lakh tourists visiting the state till October this year.

There was no official word on what transpired during the hour-long meeting between Omar and the Army Chief. The Army has voiced its serious reservations over withdrawal of AFSPA from certain parts citing security concerns.

The J&K Government has been pressing for partial removal of AFSPA and suggested that it could be removed from Srinagar and Budgam besides Jammu city and Sambha.

A Unified Headquarters meeting was held recently in which Army gave a detailed briefing on its opposition for even partial removal of AFSPA from certain areas of the state and also went to the extent that if AFSPA is removed, Kashmir may become independent by 2016, a statement which shocked everyone present at the meeting.

Army contended that AFSPA is an enabling act to counter terrorists operations and should be seen in the context of the proxy war waged by Pakistan in the state.

Other central agencies opposed the Army's move and termed the assertion of the Army as a far-fetched and without any basis.

The Chief Minister told the meeting in no uncertain terms that "no is not an option" and that partial removal of AFSPA would have to take place. Omar also later went on to stress that he was fully authorised to revoke the act from the areas he wished.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had said in Jammu recently that no controversy should be made out of AFSPA and the decision has to be taken politically.

Seventeen killed in Israel attacks

At least seven Israelis were killed and dozens injured in a series of roadside attacks on buses and cars travelling close to the Egyptian border on Thursday, the deadliest assault on Israeli soil in at least four years.

Four attackers were killed by Israeli soldiers in a shoot-out, a spokeswoman for the army said. Later in the day at least six Palestinians were killed in an Israel airstrike on the Gaza Strip, taking the death toll to at least 17
.Israeli officials said the assailants had crossed into Israel from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, but insisted there was “clear intelligence information” that they originally hailed from the Gaza Strip. “The source of the terror acts is Gaza, and we will act against them with full force and determination,” said Ehud Barak, the defence minister. There was no claim of responsibility from any group in Gaza or Egypt.

Egyptian officials denied the assailants had crossed into Israel from the Sinai.Mr Barak’s warning raised the prospect of a fresh escalation between Israeli forces and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza. Israeli jet fighters attacked the Gaza Strip in the early evening. Among those killed was the leader of a militant group known as the Popular Resistance Committees.

Senior Hamas officials said the group had nothing to do with the attacks and accused Israel of exploiting the incident to strike Gaza.

The first Israeli target earlier in the day was a bus driving from the city of Beersheva to Eilat. It was sprayed with gunfire close to the Egyptian border by a group of men who reportedly disguised themselves as soldiers. It was followed by a second shooting attack on another bus. The third incident occurred when an Israeli military vehicle rushing to the scene was hit by a roadside bomb. This was followed by mortar fire, apparently from the Egyptian side of the border, and the launching of at least one anti-tank missile on an Israeli vehicle.

It was unclear how many assailants were involved in the series of attacks. However, the number of targets and the broad spectrum of weapons employed suggest an unusual level of organisation and preparation.

The attacks took place about 20kms north of Eilat, the Israeli Red Sea resort town, on a stretch of road that runs parallel with the Egyptian border.

The Israeli government decided last year to build a new security fence along the border with Egypt, saying it was necessary to stop the flow of illegal migrants into the country and to undermine the smuggling of arms and other goods. The fence, which was estimated to cost at least Shk1bn ($280m), has not yet been completed.