AFSPA revoked in Meghalaya, part of Arunachal

After reviewing the security situation in the troubled areas of North-Eastern region, the Centre has completely lifted the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Meghalaya, and left only eight police stations in Arunachal Pradesh under its jurisdiction.

Home Ministry officials said the AFSPA removal has come into effect from April 1.

The decision has been taken due to a significant improvement of security situation in these areas, they said.

In Arunachal Pradesh, areas under the Act have been reduced from 16 police stations areas bordering Assam to eight police stations, besides Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts, the official said.

There have been demands from various organisations in the North-East as well as in Jammu & Kashmir for repealing the Act.

The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations, arrest anyone anywhere without prior notice and not their action is not challengeable in courts. The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades and in Assam from early 1990s. It was not withdrawn in Nagaland even after a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015, by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah, and Government interlocutor RN Ravi in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MHA officials said there has been a substantial improvement in security situation in the North-Eastern States over the last four years.

The year 2017 recorded the lowest insurgency incidents and casualties among civilians and security forces during the last two decades since 1997. While insurgency has been wiped out from Tripura and Mizoram, there has been a marked improvement in security situation in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur, the official said.

In Assam, sustained counter-insurgency operations against NDFB (S) have resulted in killing of 63 cadres and the arrest of 1,052 cadres/linkmen besides recovery of huge arms and ammunition between December 2014 and March this year. Across the North-East, there has been a huge reduction of 96 per cent in casualties among the security forces from 289 in 1997 to 12 in 2017. Civilian casualties also dropped by 96 per cent from 907 in the year 2000 to 37 last year, the official added.

Insurgency incidents during the same period have been reduced by 85 per cent from 1,963 to 308. So far as kidnapping and abductions are concerned, there has been a 40 per cent drop from 168 incidents in 2016 to 102 last year.