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100 Valley stone-pelters set to be released
Ehsan Fazili/TNS

Srinagar, September 29
As part of the eight-point plan to ease the ongoing trouble in Kashmir, the authorities have decided to immediately release 100 youth who had been arrested for stone-throwing over the past four months in Kashmir. They would be handed over to their parents on the assurance of their good conduct in future.

Two committees comprising civil, Army and police officers, one each for Kashmir and Jammu provinces, have also been constituted to review the areas which have been declared “disturbed areas” under the AFSPA.

These decisions were taken at a meeting of the Combined Unified Headquarters (UHQ) held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here this evening, Principal Secretary (Home) B R Sharma told mediapersons.

The UHQ meeting was held following the announcement of an eight-point agenda by the Central government on Saturday after an all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram visited the strife-torn state.

Sharma said the two committees would carry out a detailed review and submit their recommendations to the Apex Committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister.

The UHQ further decided to remove 16 bunkers or pickets of security forces in Srinagar city.

A meeting of the Review Committee on the cases of all those detained under Public Safety Act (PSA) would be held here on October 6, the Principal Secretary (Home) said. He added that about 100 persons had been arrested on the charges of stone pelting since the trouble erupted in the valley. Of these, 48 persons had been detained under the PSA, whose cases are also being reviewed.

The UHQ also decided that mobile services, which had been deactivated since the eruption of trouble, would be reactivated immediately in Sopore and Baramulla areas of north Kashmir.

It was informed that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued orders sanctioning ex-gratia relief of Rs 5 lakhs each to the kin to those killed in the civil disturbance since June 11.

A sum of Rs 100 crore has been released by the Central government as additional Central assistance to the state government for bringing about improvement in the infrastructure in schools and colleges.