Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Nagaland extended for another six months

Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Nagaland extended for another six months

Guwahati: The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland has been extended for six more months. The central government has made this new announcement of the extension of the Act on Monday. With this, the Act has now extended till July. The central government, stating the reason for the extension of the AFSPA says that the whole state is in such a “disturbed and dangerous condition” that it is necessary to use the armed forces in aid of civil power.

The AFSPA allows the security forces to have the powers of conducting operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior notice. Hence, in the present unstable condition of the state, it is necessary for the armed forces to have the ultimate power in order to keep the law and order under control and maintain peace in the state.

As stated by a government statement, “Centre declares the whole state to be a disturbed area for a period of six months with effect from December 30.” There have been repeated demands for repealing AFSPA from several activists and organizations based in the north-east region and Jammu and Kashmir but despite that, the Act has been ordered to be extended.

Nagaland has lately been declared as “disturbed area” for the recent incidents of killings, loot and extortion going on in various parts of the state. The disturbed state of Nagaland compelled the Central government to opt for extending the Act in order to ensure the convenience of the security forces operating there.

It has to be mentioned here that the AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades and it has not been withdrawn even though a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015. The agreement was signed by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah with government interlocutor R N Ravi in the PM Narendra Modi in the national capital.

The decision to extend the AFSPA has come just a day after PM Modi renamed the three islands of Andaman and Nicobar. Notably, the renaming of the islands has been done as a mark of tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

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