…but Govt sets table

Even as separatist groups decided to stay away from the third roundtable, the government moved ahead with its groundwork amid indications that recommendations of working groups set up last year could lead to some key decisions. Four of the five groups set up by the PM after the second roundtable in Srinagar last May have come up with their suggestions.

J-K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad met the Prime Minister today and briefed him on preparations for the meeting. There are signs that the state government is unwilling to let its guard down and relocate the Army with intelligence inputs warning of a

spurt in militant strikes in the next few months. This concern and the recent militant strikes are believed to have figured in discussions Azad had with the PM and other senior leaders, including Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.