Former Army chief against repealing of AFSPA in trouble-torn states

PATIALA: Former Army chief General Bikram Singh said on Tuesday that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) should not be lifted from the trouble-torn states as the act "empowers the soldier" to conduct important security operations. He maintained that through AFSPA, Army only "assists" the civil authorities to establish rule of law.
"There are provisions in the Act which empower the soldier to conduct police-like operations.But these operations are controlled through very comprehensive dos and don'ts, which were laid down through a judgment by the Supreme Court in 1997," said the former Army chief here at Punjabi University, Patiala.
"The SC judgment laid down how the civil authorities are to be respected during implementation of AFSPA. Even if the Army gets involved, the civil authority remained overall in-charge of the situation. The Army is only assisting the rule of law of the state authority. It is strengthening the hand of the civil administration", he added.