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| Govt's no to PSA, AFSPA revocation in view of difficult security scenario | | | early times report
Jammu, Oct 2 : Even after the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, favoured amendment to the AFSPA the Jammu and Kashmir Government, led by Omar Abdullah, is said to have no immediate plan for raking up the demand for the partial revocation of the AFSPA. Government circles said that after the recent twin terrorist strikes in the states most peaceful districts, Kathua and Samba, in which 10 people were killed, the state Government has suspended its demand for partial withdrawal of the AFSPA.
These circles said that since the state Government is worried over the new strategies being framed by militants operating within Jammu and Kashmir the ruling coalition has decided against revocation of the Public Safety Act.
These circles said that in view of the hanged stance of the state Government on the issue of revocation of AFSPA and the PSA P.Chidambaram's view on AFSPA had no meaning.
The Union Finance Minister has regretted that nothing much could be done to revoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir.
"I wish I and the Chief Minister could have succeeded in persuading some colleagues to amend the AFSPA as far as it could be done," the Finance Minister said during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Jammu and Kashmir Bank at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre in Srinagar.
In the light of disturbing trends on the LOC and the IB , the government has ruled out revocation of Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir, stating that the Act has sufficient inbuilt safeguards to prevent its misuse or arbitrary application.
In the last five years (from 2009-July 2013) 1257 persons have been detained under PSA in J&K (1117 people from Kashmir and 140 from Jammu division), Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has disclosed.
Omar, who holds the Home portfolio, also revealed that 66 people from Kashmir have been re-detained due to their "deep involvement in terrorist, subversive or disruptive activities or other heinous crimes, in the interest of security of the state".
Stating that there was no need or proposal to revoke PSA, he said, "The Act has sufficient inbuilt safeguards including reference to Advisory Board set up under the Act to confirm or recommend revocation of the detention order leaving no scope for its misuse or arbitrary application by any authority."
It further stated that Jammu and Kashmir PSA, 1978, has been amended last year to ensure that no citizen under the age of 18 years is detained under the law.
Security experts are of the view that there was no need for scrapping the PSA and the AFSPA because of the fact that Jammu and Kashmir state was yet to be out of woods. They said these laws must be retained and only thing to be ensured was that no agency was allowed to misuse these laws. (KIP) |
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