New Delhi, India (January 14, 2012): According to media reports Indian Army chief Gen. Bikram Singh on January 14, 2014 (Monday) said he did not favor dilution of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir as it was “an enabler” for soldiers to fight militancy in an asymmetric environment.
Answering a query on AFPSA at his press conference in New Delhi on eve of the Army Day, Gen. Bikram Singh said that soldiers in the state work in an environment where it was difficult to differentiate between friend and foe as militants mingle with civilian population.
He said the soldiers face a great deal of challenges and they need to be given “enablers” to operate against militants.
“These are enablers. They give additional powers,” he said.
“There should not be dilution of AFPSA.”
According to various human rights organizations, AFSPA, is being widely misused and is turned into a tool granting impunity to the members of Indian armed forces indulging in grave human rights abuses.
Amnesty International has repeatedly demanded abolition of AFSPA in Kashmir and other parts of India in order to restore dignity of human rights and human life of the people subjected in these areas that are often labelled as “disturbed areas” by the Indian state, Government and the media.