Home min to soften AFSPA blow: Aapsu

Itanagar: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (Aapsu) on Tuesday said the Union home ministry has agreed to relax its rules of engagement while conducting operation against outfits in Arunachal Pradesh under the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), 1958.
The chairperson of the AAPSU-constituted AFSPA Committee, Pritam Waii Sonam, told the media that Union home minister Rajnath Singh has agreed that the Armed Forces would not conduct random operations in police station areas that fall under the draconian law without consulting local police and village heads.
“The decision was made after considering local sentiment and to avoid unnecessary harassment of civilians,” Sonam said. The AAPSU team, along with president Kamta Lapung, recently called on Singh and Union MoS for home Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi to discuss the extension of AFSPA in Arunachal.
Tame said AAPSU, through the committee, would keep a close watch on the implementation of AFSPA in Arunachal. It will conduct a review meeting six months from the date of imposition of the law in Arunachal. The AFSPA Committee acknowledged the support extended by the civil society to its demand for the act’s withdrawal.
The May 5 notification of the Union home ministry says AFSPA will be applied to 16 police station areas in 9 districts of the state bordering Assam.