Mehbooba chairs all-party meet on Kashmir situation, NC boycotts

An All-Party Meeting convened by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was held here today to review the situation in the violence-hit Valley and find a way out of the unrest that has left 43 persons dead and 3400 others injured.

Main opposition National Conference is not participating in the meeting. The party had yesterday announced its decision to boycott it, saying actions in the recent past have shown that there was no “effective leadership” in the state government.

Mehbooba chaired the meeting, which was also attended by several ministers including deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, leaders from opposition Congress, independent MLAs and leaders of other political parties in the state.

Mehbooba convened the meeting to build a consensus on the measures to be taken for restoring normalcy in the Valley which has erupted into violent protests after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.