Centre extends AFSPA in 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh
The Centre on Friday extended the ambit of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in three Arunachal Pradesh districts, namely Tirap, Changlang, and Longding, from April 1 (Friday) to September 30. Furthermore, the imposition of the AFSPA was extended in regions under the jurisdiction of the Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in Arunachal Pradesh, said a notification issued by the Home Affairs Ministry.
- This development comes a day after the Centre decided to reduce the number of disturbed areas under the AFSPA in Nagaland, Assam, and Manipur after decades.
- According to the MHA, the improved security situation in the northeast has prompted the government to reduce disturbed areas.
- The law can be imposed in any region for six months before it is reviewed for extension or abolition.
The Centre designated the aforementioned districts and places in Arunachal Pradesh as "disturbed" under relevant sections of the 1958 ASFPA until September 30, unless withdrawn earlier. For years, protests have raged in the northeast, demanding that the AFSPA be repealed due to its "draconian" provisions. Notably, the Disturbed Area Notification under the AFSPA was revoked in Tripura in 2015, and in Meghalaya in 2018.
Originally enacted by the British in 1942 and promulgated in Parliament in 1958, the AFSPA allows armed forces to control and maintain public order in "disturbed" areas. The AFSPA's Section 4 grants special powers to forces—allowing them to open fire, make arrests without warrants, enter and search without warrants, and have immunity from prosecution. Section 6 accords immunity to security personnel from legal proceedings.
To recall, the Disturbed Area Notification has been in force in Assam since 1990. However, the implementation of the AFSPA is being withdrawn by the Centre in the state—entirely from 23 districts and partially from one district—with effect from April 1 (Friday). Moreover, 15 police station areas under six districts of Manipur will also be excluded from the ambit of the AFSPA from Friday.
Accepting the recommendations of a high-level committee to remove the AFSPA in a phased manner in Nagaland, the central government has withdrawn the Disturbed Area Notification from 15 police station areas in seven districts in the state with effect from April 1. To note, the high-level committee was constituted in the wake of the Mon killings in Nagaland in December 2021.
The Centre's decision to reduce "disturbed" areas in three northeastern states had received positive responses from locals and Opposition, too. Assam Assembly's Deputy Speaker, Dr. Numal Momin, called it the "biggest success" in bringing peace to the northeast. Meanwhile, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Mazibur Rahman said the move had established a peaceful environment in Assam and other parts of the northeast.
The central government had stated on Thursday that insurgency in the northeast had come down in the past seven years under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre. As per data provided by the Home Ministry's official website, insurgency-related incidents had reportedly decreased from 1,749 back in 1999 to only 209 in 2021 in the northeastern region.
