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| Omar bats for change within internal security-related laws | | AFSPA, Army and legal immunity | | Neha
JAMMU, Mar 9: NC working president and Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had been demanding revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and withdrawal of the Army from certain areas of the state since 2009, but failed to convince the authorities of his demands on Saturday advocated the need for a change within laws like the AFSPA so that they are not misused by the Army. "There is a need to build a 'fear of consequences' within laws like the AFSPA so that they are not misused by the Army," Omar Abdullah said in Delhi on March 8 while talking on wide-ranging issues at the two-day India Today conclave, and dismissed out-of-hand the well-founded suggestions coming from the Army and sophisticated strategic and defence affairs experts that the withdrawal of American troops from the terrorist-infested Afghanistan will have an adverse impact on Jammu & Kashmir's internal security and there is the need to strengthen the Indian war machine and secure the borders to maximum extent so that the Taliban and similar other terrorists and Pakistani Army could not play any mischief in the state and elsewhere in the country.
Omar Abdullah advocated a change within the laws like the AFSPA on the ground that they give a legal immunity to the Army, which is not acceptable. "The sort of cover they get now is they can do whatever they believe without fear of consequences. I think that fear of consequences has to be built back into the system," he was quoted as saying. However, he did agree that as long as the Army is involved in internal security duties, it needed a legal cover to operate.
"So long as you are using army for internal security duty, they need legal cover to operate. I think we need to differentiate between legal cover and impunity," he said, and added that he didn't buy that argument at all that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will complicate the matters in Jammu & Kashmir. "The reason why I don't buy this argument is that so far we have been taking credit for whatever improvement has taken place and now if we are going to blame Americans for the deterioration, then it means that improvement was because of their actions as well, which I refuse to accept," he said.
It appears from what Omar Abdullah said that he has no definite stand on the AFSPA and that he defends and opposes it at the same time. His argument that there is a need to build a 'fear of consequences' within laws like the AFSPA is quite untenable as it literally means negation of that provision that gives a legal immunity to the armed forces involved in anti-insurgency operations. Equally untenable his suggestion that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will complicate the matters in Jammu & Kashmir. For, there is general consensus in the country that such a withdrawal will surely have an adverse impact on the country's internal security. The Army and strategic and defence affairs experts know the ground situation and their assessment just cannot be questioned. On the contrary, their assessment needed to be appreciated and pre-emptive measures taken before the anti-India forces could play any mischief.
Omar Abdullah should focus on issues of governance rather than focusing his attention on issues which do not fall within his domain. National security, foreign relations and defence preparedness are the national issues which only the national government is competent to handle with the state government helping the national government in every respect. But Omar Abdullah and other Kashmiri leaders do understand all this; they only interfere in matters which are within the domain of the Union Government. |
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