• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was extended by another six months in Manipur barring 19 police stations falling under the Imphal valley and an area that shares its boundary with neighbouring Assam.

• The police station areas where the Disturbed Areas Act has not been imposed are Imphal, Lamphel, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Pastol, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingagng, Lamlai, Iribung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakchin and Jirbam.

• With the extension of AFSPA, the Army and Assam Rifles cannot operate inside the areas under the 19 police stations without the consent of the state police.

• More than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Centre extends AFSPA in parts of Arunachal, Nagaland

• The AFSPA has been in force in a few districts and police station areas in both Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland for many years now and it is extended periodically.

• The Union Home Ministry said Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts in Arunachal Pradesh and the areas falling within the jurisdiction of Namsai, Mahadevpur and Chowkham police stations in Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering the State of Assam, are declared as “disturbed area” under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for a period of six months with effect from October 1, 2023, unless withdrawn earlier.

• In a separate notification, the home ministry said eight districts and 21 police stations in five other districts of Nagaland are declared as ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from October 1, 2023, unless withdrawn earlier.

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.

• If the governor of a state or the administrator of the Union Territory to which this Act extends or the central government is of the opinion that the whole or any part of such state of Union Territory is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of Armed Forces in aid of the civil power is necessary, the governor of state or the administrator of Union Territory or the central government may declare the whole or such part of such state or Union Territory to be a “disturbed area”.

• 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.

• The disturbed area notification under AFSPA was completely removed from Tripura in 2015 and Meghalaya in 2018.

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