Assam Government to Make Decision on AFSPA Soon

GUWAHATI: After the current AFSPA in the state expires in a few months, the Assam administration will reconsider the implementation of the contentious Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in some portions of the state.

The Assam administration extended the state's 'Disturbed Area' designation under the AFSPA for another six months from August 28 last year. The announcement made no indication of why the AFSPA was being extended in the state. The AFSPA was enacted in Assam in November 1990 and has been renewed every six months by the state administration since then.

"We will take a call at the time of the status renewal," Sarma said on Saturday. Except for a few locations, the army has practically departed from Assam. As a result, the state administration will take another look at it next time."

Despite both the Centre and the state administration maintaining that the state's peace and order situation has improved over time, the repeated extension of AFSPA in the state has been condemned from all sides.

Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (save in the Imphal city council area), Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang, Longding, and Tirap districts, and territories under the control of eight police stations in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam are all covered by the AFSPA.

The call to abolish AFSPA has become louder after 14 people were murdered in a 'botched' operation by the Indian army in Nagaland, in which they wrongly executed innocent miners as terrorists.

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