The Hindu : National : Do not dilute Armed Forces Act : official

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Thursday, Jul 07, 2005

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National

Do not dilute Armed Forces Act : official

Sandeep Dikshit

"Keep this weapon in its armoury to deal with secession-like situation"

NEW DELHI: The armed forces are not in favour of diluting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which provides immunity to security forces during anti-insurgency operations.

The Act is in force in several northeastern States and Jammu and Kashmir and was earlier imposed in Punjab. It was promulgated in 1958 after the Government felt "violence had become a way of life in northeastern States".

Pointing out that no government "tampered" with the AFSPA, a senior defence official said it was better to lift it for some time and assess the situation. That way, the Government should keep one weapon in its armoury to deal with a secession-like situation. "It is better to withdraw it than destroy the one weapon available with the state to tackle insurgency," said the official, speaking in the context of reports suggesting that a panel had suggested the repeal of the AFSPA and inclusion of some of its provisions in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The official was also not in favour of amending one of the clauses that empowered officials up to the level of junior commissioned officers to kill a person in a "disturbed" area if it was necessary to maintain law and order.

"It is neither practical from the operational point of view nor judicious to drop this clause."

During encounters in built-up areas, it was impossible for the security forces deployed around a building to merely injure a person.

Court verdict

The official drew attention to a Supreme Court judgment upholding the AFSPA and incorporating safeguards to argue that its dilution might not be in the national interest.

In any case, the National Human Rights Commission considered allegations of abuse of the AFSPA by the security forces.

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