Amidst growing opposition from the saffron groups, Omar Abdullah government has formally kicked-off the process for evolving a consensus on the justice Saghir committee recommendations, which has advocated autonomy for restive Jammu and Kashmir.

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A seven-member cabinet sub-committee comprising four top ministers from Congress and three from National Conference (NC) has been formed under the leadership of finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather, which held its first meeting in Jammu to take a “realistic and holistic view of the Saghir report”.

Former supreme court judge Saghir Ahmad, who was heading the fifth working group of the prime minister on centre-state relations, presented its report to chief minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009 advocating restoration of autonomy to the state.

“The question of autonomy and its demand can be examined in the light of the ‘Kashmir Accord’ or in some other manner or on the basis of some formula as the present prime minister may deem and appropriate so as to restore the autonomy to the extent possible”, justice Saghir said in his report.

Ali Mohammad Sagar, state law and parliamentary affairs minister who is the member of the cabinet sub-committee, said they will be submitting the report to the cabinet in three months.