Srinagar: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah along with his party members has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him about the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir, in the backdrop of the Centre’s move to send 100 additional companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces to the Valley.

Abdullah and two NC Lok Sabha members–Justice (retired) Hasnain Masoodi and Mohammad Akbar Lone– have sought time to meet the prime minister urgently, a senior party leader said here.

The party will also talk about the current situation in the state in the Lok Sabha for which the necessary notice has been given in the House, he said.

The NC leader said Abdullah has also been trying to convene a meeting of opposition parties at the national level for evolving a consensus over the situation in the Valley. 

“Efforts are on to forge a consensus at the national level with regard to the situation in Kashmir,” he added.

Earlier, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti requested the National Conference president to call an all-party meet in the state to discuss the prevailing situation.

“In light of recent developments that have caused a sense of panic amongst people in J&K, I’ve requested Dr Farooq Abdullah sahab to convene an all party meeting. Need of the hour is to come together & forge a united response. We the people of Kashmir need to stand up as one,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

However, NC vice president Omar Abdullah responded by saying that the party was making efforts to understand the intentions of the central government for the state.

“Before calling senior leaders from other parties in J&K to discuss the current situation it’s important to try to understand from the Central Govt about their intentions for the state & also how they see the situation at the moment. This is what @JKNC_ is focused on,” he added. 

The NDA-led Centre had recently announced that 100 more companies (10,000 personnel) of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) would be sent to the state.

The government had said the troops were being deployed to strengthen the counter-insurgency grid and law and order duties in the Kashmir Valley. 

Speculation is also rife that the Centre may have plans to do away with Article 35A, which gives exclusive rights to the state’s residents in government jobs and land.

These speculations have dominated the discourse in Kashmir over the past few days. The mainstream political parties have, however, vowed to resist any such move to tinker with the special status.

PTI MIJ SKL