SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said he has been in continuous communication with Union Home Minister Amit Shah over several pending issues between the Union Territory and the Centre, including restoration of statehood.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah said discussions with the Home Minister covered a range of matters, including statehood, business rules, appointment of an Advocate General and the reservation issue.
“There is continuous communication with the Home Minister,” Abdullah said, adding that several issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir and the Central Government were discussed during his recent meeting with Shah.
The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir has been without an Advocate General for nearly two years. He also said the response prepared by the Union Territory Cabinet on the reservation matter has not yet been forwarded to the Government of India.
On recent threats to Kashmiri Pandits employed in the Valley under the Prime Minister’s Package, Abdullah urged the security establishment to take the matter seriously and investigate the source of the threats.
He recalled incidents of targeted killings in the past, saying migrants, including government employees and private citizens, had been targeted on the basis of their ethnicity or religion.
“This is something that should not be ignored,” Abdullah said, stressing that Jammu and Kashmir had already paid a heavy price for the violence of the early 1990s.
He called for a thorough investigation to identify those behind the threats and said the law should take its course against those responsible.
