Centre forms panel to look into withdrawal of AFSPA in Nagaland

• The Centre constituted a high-level committee, headed by a secretary-rank officer, to examine the possibility of lifting the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Nagaland.

• Protests have been going on in several districts of Nagaland for the withdrawal of the AFSPA, ever since an Army unit killed the 14 civilians in Mon mistaking them as insurgents.

• The committee was set up three days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with chief ministers of Nagaland and Assam Neiphiu Rio and Himanta Biswa Sarma respectively.

• The panel will submit its report within 45 days.

• The committee will look into the possibility of the withdrawal of the AFSPA in Nagaland,  where it has been operational for decades, and a decision will be taken on the basis of its recommendations.

What is AFSPA?

• Law and order is a state subject. However, the central government is supplementing efforts of the state governments for curbing the illegal and unlawful activities of militant/insurgent groups of Northeast states through various measures. 

• These include deployment of Central Armed Police Forces, reimbursement of security related expenditure (SRE) to the state governments under SRE scheme, central assistance to the state governments for modernisation of state police forces, sanction of India Reserve Battalions, banning the Unlawful Associations operating in NE region under UAPA, declaring specific areas/states as “disturbed areas” for the purpose of AFSPA and issuing notifications for Unified Command Structure.

• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in 1958 to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon the members of the Armed Forces in the disturbed areas in Assam and Manipur. It was amended and extended to Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

• Currently, the AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council area), Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang, Longding, Tirap districts and areas falling within the eight police stations at the Assam border.

• The AFSPA gives the Armed Forces sweeping powers to search and arrest, and to open fire if they deem it necessary for “the maintenance of public order”.

• AFSPA is imposed in areas where Armed Forces are required to operate in aid of civil authorities. 

• For AFSPA to become valid, an area, however, needs to be declared “disturbed” either by the central or the state government under Section 3 of the 1958 Act.

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