New Delhi/Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday pointed out that the army had not been deployed in Srinagar and hoped to pull out the armed forces from "standby duties" this week.
"There has been no major incident since Friday" when the curfew was lifted to allow people to offer prayers at night on the occasion of Shab-e-Mehraj, Omar said in an interview to the NDTV news channel in Srinagar.
"It was a difficult decision for me," Omar said about the government's resolve to deploy the army for flag marches in Srinagar three days ago to quell escalating violence.
He said that he consulted his ministerial colleagues and party leaders. "First, I had to convince myself."
He said since Friday the army was doing "standby duties only" in the valley. "It has not been deployed on the streets."
Confidence
Asked when he expected to call back the army, Omar said: "When we have that level of confidence, we will send back the army. It may be some time next week".
The chief minister said he would meet the families of the teenagers and other civilians killed in firing by security forces in Kashmir. "But away from the media." Authorities yesterday re-imposed a curfew several hours ahead of schedule in some areas of Indianadministered Kashmir, including parts of Srinagar, in response to protesters attacking security forces with stones, police said.
Authorities late on Friday had lifted a four-day long curfew that was introduced after some of the largest protests in two years against India rule.
The curfew was to have come back into force later on Saturday , but was brought forward after police and protesters clashed in several places. In Srinagar, thousands of protesters led by separatist leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq marched the streets demanding freedom.
In New Delhi, New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday and requested their assistance to tide over the volatile situation.
