Asserting that the government is yet to arrive on an unanimous decision on partial withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said all agencies, except the Army, were in favour of revocation of this Act.

"The reality is that we could not reach an unanimous decision on it (revocation of AFSPA). The reality is that it was deliberated upon in Unified Command meeting. All agencies, except the Army, were in favour of revocation of AFSPA", Omar told the assembly while winding up a discussion on the grants of his department here.

The army did not favour it on the ground that the situation was not conducive for it, he said adding "I decided not to wait for long and I went to the Centre and held talks with all the stakeholders of Cabinet Committee on Security. Talks are on with them", the chief minister said, "we are trying that this Act should be lifted not by the end of our turn of governance. I hope this year only we will take a step in this direction".

Referring to a point raised by a member that the state government should write a letter of recommendation for repealing of AFSPA, Omar said "we do not need to send a letter to government of India. If this power could have been in their hands only, then we would have been under compulsion to write that letter".

"Under AFSPA, the power lies either with the Centre or with the state. We too have powers to recommend lifting of AFSPA", he said adding "when AFSPA was imposed in Jammu region, then the state did not need the Centre's approval. It was a decision taken by the state cabinet and recommended to the Governor who approved it".

After the prime minister's round table conference and subsequent recommendations by a working group that the laws enacted in Jammu and Kashmir should be rolled back, Omar said, "I also agree that time has reached when they should be withdrawn slowly."

"We are told that one year of peace is not sufficient for rolling back of AFSPA. We should not consider linking AFSPA with law and order as AFSPA was never imposed in Jammu and Kashmir for law and order problem but for fighting militancy," he said.

"If you see the figures of 2002 as compared to this year, the militancy is just five per cent of the militancy in 2002," he said.

"Situation in Jammu and Kashmir is better than last year. It has become conducive for traders, businesses and tourists," Omar said.

We tried to give benefit to the people of the state. For past several years consecutively, the situation has become better, but this is true that summer in the past few years were bad particularly in 2008, 2009, 2010," Omar said.

"The point of the fact is that situation is getting better and conducive. We have repeatedly said in the House that foot prints of security forces should be decreased and people should feel the impact of the decrease in the security force, which they see everywhere," Omar added.

The chief minister said that the human rights situation in the state has also significantly improved.

"This is obvious by the fact that members in the House now do not talk about this issue as they used to mention it vociferously in the past," he said, claiming that in the last one year only five incidents of rights violation have been reported in the state.

On amnesty to the stone pelters involved in 2010 stone pelting, Omar said 2,700 persons have been shortlisted for granting the amnesty.

"Revocation of FIRs and withdrawal of cases from courts take some time, but we are working on the issue on fast track," he said.

Omar said that public-police rapport and regular conferencing is important to maintain law and order and avoid incidents of rights violation.

"This process should be appreciated by all without bringing politics in it," he told main Opposition PDP asking them to encourage police-friendly trend instead of criticising it.

Omar said that he has asked the Home Department to prepare the draft J-K Police Act for discussion in the Cabinet and bringing before the House for consideration and passing.

"I expect the placing of this Act before the House in its next sitting in Srinagar," he said.