Speaking to rediff.com from Kolkata airport, Sitaram Yechuri said that his party's stand is that if the AFSPA could be withdrawn in some areas of North East, why can't the the same be done in Kashmir. "For instance the AFSPA is now implemented in Tripura and some other states, which goes to shows that different strategy could be adopted for different situations," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has threatened to resign in the wake of the government's decision to call an all party meeting on Wednesday on the issue of repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the valley. "I will have to think whether to continue as chief minister of the state or not. Let my party president Dr Farooq Abdullah return and we will discuss the situation," Omar said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced last week in Imphal that the government was considering amendments in AFSPA, which has evoked resentment from a cross-section of the people of Manipur where it is in force.
Activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on fast for the past 12 years demanding withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, from Manipur, has been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked separatists 'to utilise the prevailing favourable atmosphere to discuss their viewpoint across the table'.
Amid clamour for withdrawal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Kashmir, a UN Special Rapporteur on Friday urged India to repeal the controversial law that gives its military special powers to act in troubled areas.
India's human rights record in 2011 got a thumbs down from a global rights group which has criticised the government for its inaction in repealing the controversial armed forces act and for remaining silent on the "gravest abuses" in countries like Syria.
Irom Sharmila's decision to end her 16-year-old fast against the AFSPA continues to be hotly debated and contested in Imphal.
Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, however, said he would not tolerate violent agitations that are being organised by a few groups in the state.
Jammu and Kashmir, chief minister, Omar Abdullah assured the state assembly on Thursday that he will repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Disturbed Areas Act 'if the situation continued to improve' in Kashmir.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, or AFSPA, as it is commonly known, has of late been a subject of intense discussion and debate. AFSPA has been in force in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, and the 'draconian' law has been the reason of wide protests.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has been urged to support the demand for repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 by Manipuri social activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on an indefinite fast on the issue for nearly 11 years now.
Captain Bhoopendra Singh had also provided wrong information to his superiors and the police about the recovery made during the staged encounter, the charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police before the chief judicial magistrate in Shopian said.
The Centre supported the pleas before a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit against the lodging of FIRs against members of the armed forces in AFSPA-enforced areas.
The Cabinet Committee on Security is meeting in New Delhi on Friday, two days after the return of an all-party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir.
Breaking their silence after four days of a shoot-out in which 13 of their village youth died in firing by Para commandos, the Oting Citizens Office, representing Oting village in Nagaland's remote Mon district on Wednesday rubbished official claims and asserted security forces had tried to hide the dead bodies and dress them in fatigues in a bid to pass them off as militants after a botched up ambush.
'The wish is that 2022, if not bring us into happier times, at least sees some easing of the pain,' hopes Aakar Patel.
The Central Reserve Police Force has sought the cover of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for its men conducting anti-Naxal operations at a time when continuance of the controversial Act in areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the North East is being debated.
'There is a joke that is cracked in hushed tones sometimes in Manipur, what would many of the insurgent outfits do if AFSPA is indeed taken away? What would they fight against?'
Intelligence inputs received by various army formations in Jammu and Kashmir appear to suggest that infiltration is on the rise after the state government's move for a partial withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
It was also suggested that an all-party delegation should visit Kashmir to assess the situation but the government did not make commitments regarding any of their demands.
The National Human Rights Commission report prepared for the second universal periodic review, a mechanism created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 for examining the universal coverage of human rights across the world, will come up for discussion in a meeting early next year.
The crucial meeting of the Unified Command HQ, presided over by Abdullah, lasted over three hours. However, it only witnessed presentations by every stakeholder -- the state government, the Army, heads of paramilitary forces in Kashmir and intelligence agencies -- but no discussions, sources attending the meeting told rediff.com
Amidst raging debate over Jammu and Kashmir government's intention to revoke Armed Forces Special Powers Act from parts of the state, Army on Thursday made its case clear saying any such move will handicap the capability of the force to conduct counter insurgency operations.
Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma and Home Secretary RK Singh were taken by surprise when the Army's Northern Command told them that there had been no consultations on the subject of revocation of the AFSPA even once in 2011. The chief minister's declaration was totally unilateral, the three top secretaries to the Government of India were told
During the hearing, the activist had said she loved her life and was using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal of repealing the AFSPA as it would have 'more impact' and added that this was 'not a crime'.
Families of two civilians killed in the Hyderpora encounter in Srinagar held a protest here on Wednesday, demanding justice for the victims and the return of their bodies.
The apex court in its verdict delivered on July 8 last year had given the state police liberty to probe the role of armed forces in alleged encounter cases in areas where the AFSPA is in force.
A youth was killed in army firing in Baramulla town and several others including a police officer injured in the day-long protests and violence as authorities ordered suspension of the internet services across Kashmir on Tuesday evening.
Mufti said relation of J&K with India will end if the terms and conditions of the state's accession to the Union were changed.
General Officer in Command of the strategically located XV Corps Lt Gen B S Raju said the Summary of Evidence has been completed but refused to give away any details of the outcome.
When powers vested by the Finance Bill 2017 begin to get mildly used, fellow Indians living in the corporate bubble will get a faint whiff of what life can be like when you run a grocery store in the streets of Kashmir or the North East.
Holding that the government has to have courage to take a decision on the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday questioned the need for "protection" to the army in areas where they have not operated for years.
From filling vacancies in government jobs to providing a minimum support income of Rs 72,000 per year for the poor families, the party went all out to woo the voters.
In an exclusive interview, Maj-Gen Sudhir Vombatkere (retd), who was additional director general for discipline and vigilance at the Army headquarters with the human rights cell, tells Bula Devi that the AFSPA should be used only for brief and limited periods and only to facilitate specific missions.
In an exclusive interview, Maj-Gen Sudhir Vombatkere (retd), who was additional director general for discipline and vigilance at the Army headquarters with the human rights cell, tells Bula Devi that the AFSPA should be used only for brief and limited periods and only to facilitate specific missions.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will meet in New Delhi on Saturday amid indications that the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) could be partially withdrawn from Kashmir and Jammu, an issue that was deliberated upon by the top Congress leadership on Friday.
Backing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir interlocutor M M Ansari on Tuesday said the Centre must give "full support" to the plan for partial revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the border state at the earliest to reduce any "trust deficit".
The case relates to the July 18, 2020 encounter at Amshipora in which three youths of Rajouri district -- Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar -- were killed and branded as terrorists.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's recent announcement on limited withdrawal of the Disturbed Areas Act from Jammu and Kashmir has led to "utter confusion" and its price is being paid by ordinary civilians, People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged.
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