Centre invites 14 J&K ministers, including Omar Abdulla, Mehbooba Mufti, to PM Modi meeting

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a meeting in Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 and as many as 14 leaders, including four former chief ministers of the erstwhile state, have been invited, news agency PTI reported citing officials.

The four former chief ministers are Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of the National Conference (NC), senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti. The other ministers on the list include Congress leader Tara Chand, People's Conference leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig, and BJP leaders Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta.

In addition, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) chief Altaf Bukhari, Sajjad Lone of the People's Conference, J-K Congress head GA Mir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina, and Panthers Party (PP) leader Bhim Singh have also been invited by the Centre.

Various central ministers, including Union home minister Amit Shah, are also expected to be part of the meeting.

The much-anticipated meeting is the first such exercise that is taking place since 2019 when the Centre announced the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and its bifurcation into union territories.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that Omar Abdullah will hold consultations within the party over the next few days. The Political Affairs Committee of the PDP would also be meeting on Sunday to take a decision about the talks, it also reported.

Earlier on Friday, Shah chaired a high-level security meeting in Delhi with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, R&AW chief Samant Kumar Goel, and CRPF DG Kuldeep Singh.

The meeting seems to be part of the preparations for the all-party meet, though the agenda of it was developmental issues and the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir.