The central government has extended the “rest zone” under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, known as AFSPA, for another six months in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, officials said on Saturday.
Quoting the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), officials in Kohima said the decision was taken after analyzing the law and order situation in both the bordering northeastern states.
In a notification, the MHA under AFSPA declared nine districts and 16 police stations in four other districts of Nagaland as “restless areas” for a period of six months.
In another notification, the Home Ministry declared Tirap, Changlang and Longdin districts in Arunachal Pradesh and areas falling under the jurisdiction of Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam as a “restless area”.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had on March 31 last year announced the curtailment of AFSPA from April 1 in large parts of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, even as most political parties and NGOs in the region demanded its complete withdrawal.
The demand intensified after security forces killed 14 people and injured 30 others in Nagaland’s Mon district in December 2021 in a case of “mistaken identity”.
The AFSPA, which allows the Army and other central paramilitary forces to conduct raids and operations, arrest anyone anywhere without any prior notice or arrest warrant, was in effect in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, except Imphal Municipal Council area and some areas of Arunachal Pradesh. It was lifted from Tripura in 2015, from Meghalaya in 2018 and from Mizoram in the 1980s.
–IANS
sc/pgh
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: March 25, 2023 | 20:48 IST