Govt may make AFSPA 'humane'

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will meet in a day or two to consider amending the Armed Forces Special Powers Act ( AFSPA) to make it more “humane”. The CCS will also consider partial withdrawal of the Act from certain areas of J&K.

This could form a part of the political package, suitably timed to coincide with Eid, that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is planning to roll out to contain troubles in the Valley.

Among the key amendments to AFSPA, proposed by MHA, are dropping the phrase “even to causing of death” as a permissible consequence of firing, or use of force by the armed forces in J&K, and providing for a grievance redressal mechanism to address complaints regarding AFSPA abuse.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, in a recent interaction with BJP leaders, hinted at making the Army’s powers under AFSPA less sweeping. Accepting that there were two views of AFSPA, he said these might now be reconciled in favour of a milder Act.

Omar meets PM

On Wednesday, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah made a similar demand, seeking a toned-down AFSPA as well as withdrawal of “disturbed area” status from a few parts of both Jammu and Kashmir regions.

The CCS will explore the second option as well. There are demands for withdrawal of AFSPA from parts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Jammu and Samba.

It may not be too easy to make the relevant changes in AFSPA, or its application, in view of reservations expressed by both the ministry of defence as well as the Army. Only recently, Army’s Northern Command chief Lt Gen B S Jaswal had observed that special powers were required while dealing with special situations.

Mr Omar Abdullah, who met Mr Singh on Wednesday to seek an Eid package, said “status quo is not an option”. He sought to “end the cycle of violence in his state with an economic and political offering that coincides with Eid.”

He wants the release of political prisoners, new employment schemes, swift action against human rights violations and an all-party meeting on Kashmir.