Welcoming withdrawal of troops from build-up areas along the line of Actual Control in ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister sought clarifications from the Central Government over the ground details of pullout.
“We believe the entire territory belongs to us, so we need to know if the Army withdrew from our area (and) to which place they withdrew to. We need to know the ground position,” Omar said at customary Press conference after reopening of Government offices here following biennial shifting of capital from Jammu to Srinagar.
Omar, who is also the Home Minister, referred to media reports on his input about the situation at Baulat Beg Oldie (HBO), a sarai 19 km inside the lAC. He was puzzled over the reports that troops of both the countries have withdrawn. “This is our territory, this is our side of the lAC. We need to know if the Army withdrew from our area to which place they withdrew to. Some amount of clarity from the Government of India, particularly from the Ministry of Defence, was needed,” he said.
He said the Chinese incursions in ladakh were not new but the present ingress was unique because the Red Army “established tented camps on our side of the lAC for 19 days”.
Omar appreciated the diplomatic efforts for ending the confrontation and hoped the Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid’s upcoming Beijing visit would be on schedule later this week.
“One hopes that this (Khurshid’s) visit can go ahead and measures can be put into place to avoid such incursions across the lAC in future,” he said.
Unlike New Delhi’s measured response to HBO scenario, Omar had suggested strong and unambiguous action on the Chinese incursions and sought similar responses to Pakistan and China.
Omar said that attack on a Pakistani prisoner, Sanaulla Ranje, who is battling for life in Chandigarh, was unfortunate. “The attack took place despite advisory. My information says that the Jail Superintendent has already been suspended and measures are afoot to ensure safety of prisoners,” he said without giving details of the inquiry into the incident.
Omar justified continued house arrest of 83-year-old Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani saying his speeches trigger law and order problem. “We are not afraid of Geelani. It has been seen whenever he uses the stage post-Friday prayers, he incites people and trouble erupts. If you can give assurance that Geelani won’t create any trouble, I have no hesitation in directing the police to set him free,” he said.