Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said time has not come for any rethink on Armed Forces Special Powers Act- AFSPA or making some of its provisions milder.
He said the army has been taking adequate precautions in protecting human rights while operating in disturb areas like Jammu and Kashmir.
His remarks come against the backdrop of reports that several rounds of high-level discussions have taken place between the defence and home ministries on the “need to remove or dilute at least some provisions” o f (AFSPA).
There has been a long-standing demand from various quarters in J-K and the Northeast to withdraw it.
Gen Rawat in a recent interview to PTI said he doesn’t think time has come to even rethink on AFSPA at the moment.
Army chief said though AFSPA has certain strong provisions the Army is concerned about collateral damages. He said army ensures that its operations under the law do not inconvenience the local people.
Gen Rawat said army have never been strong in applying the force the way it could be applied (under AFSPA) and it is very concerned about human rights.He said AFSPA is an enabling provision which allows the Army in particular to operate in such difficult areas. Gen Rawat asserted that Army has got quite a good human rights record,”
Since the beginning of last year, the Army pursued an aggressive anti-terror policy in J-K and, at the same time, forcefully responded to all ceasefire violations by the Pakistani talong the Line of Control.
The Agenda Alliance between PDP and BJP also talks about lifting this provisions. Though the CM has repeatedly said she can’t raise this issue unless there is tangible improvement in the situation.
The LoC remained volatile last year. According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017 as against 221 the year before.
