NEW DELHI: Amid speculations over the amendment of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir, the central government on Tuesday made it clear that it has no plans to revoke or amend the law which gives government forces immunity and special rights in carrying out operations.
“There is no proposal to amend the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990. There is no proposal under consideration of Government of India to withdraw the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 from Jammu and Kashmir,” said Hansraj Gangaram Ahir while replying a written question at Lok Sabha.
Ahir, however, said in the Lok Sabha that a proposal is under consideration to make the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 more operationally effective and humane.
Pertinently, all the mainstream parties in Jammu and Kashmir including National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, when in opposition time and again are demanding the scrapping of AFSPA.
The Hurriyat leaders have called the act “black law” which according to them is a license to kill any civilian in Kashmir.
Latest statistics show that the Centre rejected sanctioning the J&K government’s prosecution of military personnel in 47 of the 50 cases submitted since 2001.
The central government, starting 2001, received 50 cases from the Jammu and Kashmir government for sanction of prosecution of armed forces under the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the ministry of defence told the Parliament recently. (KNB)
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