Terming the issue of withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) as "very very sensitive", defence minister A K Antony on Monday said the matter has to be handled in a "mature and cool" manner.

Antony said he had "very frank" and "very fruitful" discussions with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah yesterday but it was inconclusive.

"On our side, my opinion is that this being a very very sensitive issue, let us handle it in a very mature and cool manner," he told reporters in the national capital in reply to questions on the issue of withdrawal of AFSPA in certain areas of the state.

During his meeting with Antony, Abdullah, who has been pressing for revocation of the controversial law from certain parts of the state, presented his case.

Antony said inter-governmental consultations are taking place and discussions on the issue will continue.

To a question on the security situation in the state, the defence minister said it was much better. "But considering that the infiltration attempts from across the border are continuing, we have to be careful 24/7."

When asked if the AFSPA issue would come up at a meeting of the cabinet committee on security this week, he said: "Don't put any time limit."

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Ample chances to allay Army concerns on AFSPA: Omar

Amid raging controversy over the issue of partial withdrawal of AFSPA, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said there was ample opportunity to address the concerns of the armed forces and still go ahead with the proposed plan.

Omar, who met prime minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram, also made it clear that he was not in the "business of playing politics with national security", nor would he do so ever in future.

"I believe that there is ample opportunity to address both the concerns of armed forces while still allowing us to go ahead with the position that we have taken which is keeping with what the Cabinet Committee on Security recommended almost a year ago," he said after a meeting with Chidambaram.

Omar said as part of his efforts to evolve a consensus on the partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, he has already met the Prime Minister, and other members of the CCS -- defence minister A K Antony, the home minister and would meet finance minister Pranab Mukherjee later tonight.

"Obviously the effort is to narrow the differences between what we would like to see happening and what the Army is so far as publicly stated as comfortable to let happen," he said.

The chief minister dismissed the suggestion that by raking the AFSPA he was trying to deflect other issues facing his government and said he has been raising the AFSPA issue ever since be became the chief minister three years ago.

"Please understand. I have been talking about AFSPA and its possible partial roll back almost the day since I became the chief minister...I am not in the business of playing politics with national security. I never have been and I never will be," he said.

Asked what assurance he has received from the prime minister and the union ministers, Omar said it was not proper for him to say anything on their behalf.

"I am not...its not my place to speak on behalf of raksha mantri or the Prime Minister or the home minister. I have made our point of view very clear. They, I think, were very receptive, to what we had to say. As I say, this is an ongoing process, this will continue," he said.

The chief minister said he was in the process of meeting all the members of the CCS and his effort was to reach the goal of partial withdrawal of AFSPA.

"I met the raksha mantri yesterday. I met the prime minister this morning. I just concluded a meeting with the home minister. I am scheduled to meet the finance minister later tonight. This will conclude my first round of discussions with the members of CCS. These discussions will continue. If necessary, I will meet them again. My effort is to reach the goal of partial withdrawal of AFSPA and simultaneously ally the apprehensions of the armed forces," he said.

Asked about hardline Hurriyat faction's statement that if Disturbed Areas Act, Public Safety Act and AFSPA were lifted then there will be a public uprising in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said the separatists did not want the withdrawal of AFSPA as it would benefit them in two ways.

"If not withdrawn, they will say it has not withdrawn. If withdrawn, they will threaten you (with such statement) and you will get scared by their threat," he said.

The chief minister said the state government was talking about withdrawal of AFSPA from the areas where armed forces were not operating now.

"If they (Hurriyat) have the courage, they should do whatever they want to do... they should show me by doing something in Srinagar...even today the forces are not operating in Srinagar. They can't do anything. They know that if the Act is withdrawn, people will be happy and they will lose ground. They want to threaten you," Omar said.

The chief minister said apart from the issue of the partial withdrawal of the AFSPA, he has discussed with the Home Minister several other issues including overall security environment of the state.

"We reviewed the overall security environment of the state, particularly in light of the fact that offices have moved from Srinagar to Jammu for winter. We also discussed some of the ongoing works visa-a-vis the rehabilitation of migrants etc," he said.

Omar meets PM over AFSPA issue, pitches for withdrawal

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday met prime minister Manmohan Singh amid the on-going controversy over the issue of withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some parts of the state.

Abdullah, who is pitching for removal of the AFSPA from those areas where normalcy has returned, discussed the issue during his half-an-hour-long meeting with the prime minister, sources said.

The two leaders also discussed the security situation in the state, they said.

After his meeting with Singh, Omar met home minister P Chidambaram.

The meeting with the prime minister comes a day after Omar had discussions with defence minister A K Antony and army chief V K Singh to press for early removal of the Act from certain parts of the state.

At the meeting with Antony, Omar had presented his case for removal of AFSPA from at least four districts -- two each in Kashmir and Jammu.

While Antony conveyed the reservations of the army over such a move, Omar emphasised the need to translate the promises made by the National Conference-Congress alliance on ground and reward the people of the state for maintaining a peaceful year.

Omar had noted that the state has seen a boom in the tourism industry with nearly 13 lakh tourists visiting it till October this year.

The army has voiced its serious reservations over withdrawal of AFSPA from certain parts citing security concerns.

After meeting the defence minister, Omar had tweeted on Sunday, "Yes, I have just finished meeting the defence minister & no, I don't intend to speak to the media for the time being."

Omar will also be meeting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on the AFSPA issue.

The J-K Government has been pressing for partial removal of AFSPA and suggested that it could be removed from Srinagar and Budgam areas besides Jammu city and Sambha.