Army’s stand on AFSPA unchanged
26 Feb 2015 12:31 AM GMT
The Army is apprehensive about any move to dilute controversial AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir, where BJP and PDP are set to form a coalition government, and this has been conveyed to the Centre. Army sources said that though infiltration had drastically reduced in the past few years, radicalisation has risen in certain parts of the state.
The Army feels that if AFSPA, which it terms as an “enabling Act”, is partially withdrawn or diluted, there are chances that radicalisation and later even violence levels are likely to increase, they said. Asked if the Army had written to the government against any such move, the sources said, “The Army Chief has been continuously conveying our apprehensions to the government over the past few years”. Asked specifically if it was done recently in the wake of government formation process in the state, the sources said that “feedback is a continuous process”.
The Army’s stand over the past few years has been against the dilution of the Act. According to available data, while over 120 people had infiltrated from Pakistan into the state in 2012, it had come down to less than 100 in 2013 and less than 60 in 2014.
The number of killings by the security forces, however, has increased in the state. While over 75 terrorists were eliminated in security operations in 2012 and approximately 35 were apprehended, about 68 were eliminated in 2013 and this number increased to over 100 last year, signalling a substantive jump in successful operations.
The Army feels that if AFSPA, which it terms as an “enabling Act”, is partially withdrawn or diluted, there are chances that radicalisation and later even violence levels are likely to increase, they said. Asked if the Army had written to the government against any such move, the sources said, “The Army Chief has been continuously conveying our apprehensions to the government over the past few years”. Asked specifically if it was done recently in the wake of government formation process in the state, the sources said that “feedback is a continuous process”.
The Army’s stand over the past few years has been against the dilution of the Act. According to available data, while over 120 people had infiltrated from Pakistan into the state in 2012, it had come down to less than 100 in 2013 and less than 60 in 2014.
The number of killings by the security forces, however, has increased in the state. While over 75 terrorists were eliminated in security operations in 2012 and approximately 35 were apprehended, about 68 were eliminated in 2013 and this number increased to over 100 last year, signalling a substantive jump in successful operations.
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