Srinagar: The Amnesty International (AI) has urged the Indian government to revoke a draconian law that gives armed forces unfettered powers to tackle insurgency and terrorism.
The Amnesty International, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said that the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA) threatens human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution of India and international law.
The international body welcomed the recent decision of the Tripura government to recommend withdrawal of AFSPA from the northeastern Indian state.
Amnesty International has asserted at the revocation will bring millions in Tripura out of the shadows of one of India’s harshest laws.
It now wants AFSPA withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir, Indian northernmost state.
“However, the AFSPA is still in force in several other states, including Assam, Nagaland and parts of Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Another version of the law is in force in Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement said.
Tripura announced to repeal AFSPA on May 27 after security forces exhaustively reviewed the law and order situation in the state.
The Tripura government then recommended to the federal home ministry to issue a notification to withdraw the AFSPA.
The AFSPA provides sweeping powers to soldiers, including the power to shoot to kill in certain situations and to arrest people without warrants.
“It also provides virtual immunity from prosecution by requiring prior permission from the Central Government before security personnel can be prosecuted. This permission is virtually never given,” the AI statement said.
“The law has facilitated grave human rights violations, including extra judicial executions, enforced disappearances, rape and torture and other ill treatment,” it added.
Several international bodies and experts, including the UN Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, extra judicial executions and human rights defenders, have also called for the repeal of the AFSPA from Kashmir. “Laws like the AFSPA have no place in any part of India,” it said and added, “The Government of India must respect the rights of everyone to justice and equality, and repeal this oppressive law in its entirety.”
A number of Indian bodies, including the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee and the Prime Minister’s Working Group on Confidence-Building Measures in Jammu and Kashmir have urged the repeal of the law.
The Justice Verma Committee, set up to review laws against sexual assault, said that the AFSPA legitimizes impunity for sexual violence. The Justice Santosh Hegde Commission, set up by the Supreme Court to investigate cases of fake encounters in Manipur, described the law as “a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness.”