Srinagar, September 26
All possible measures would be taken to protect panches and sarpanches in the state, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today.

Omar said the state government has called a meeting on October 1 to discuss the issues related to the security of the elected panchayat members. Their safety and security is of prime concern, the Chief Minister told reporters here.

Dubbing militants cowards for attacking panchayat members, Omar asserted that attempts to derail the panchayat process would be thwarted. "These (militants) cowards are attacking defenseless people. If they have the courage let them carry out an attack on me. But they will not do it as they know they will get a befitting reply," Omar said.

In the aftermath of the killing of a panch in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday, reports said that nearly 100 panchayat members wanted to opt out fearing for their life. Militants have targeted several panches and sarpanches since the landmark panchayat polls were held in the state last year after a gap of 30 years.

Posters have surfaced in many areas of Kashmir since early this year, asking the panches and sarpanches to resign from their posts or face dire consequences.

Omar said, "So far, we have only received 50 resignations since the panchayat elections were held last year," adding that none of these resignations had been accepted so far.

Replying to a question on the reports about “political rivalry” behind panchayat members’ killings, the Chief Minister said these attacks were made by Hizbul Mujahideen aand Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfits.

The Chief Minister said there was no rise in militancy this year. “We cannot increase the footprints of security forces”, he said.

Omar said his government was not demanding rollback of AFSPA from the areas prone to militancy, but from the areas where the situation was normal.