The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 has been extended in certain parts of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for further period of six months from October 1 till further notice. The decision comes after a study of the state of law and order in the three north-eastern states. The Ministry of Home Affairs provides information on the relevant AFSPA notifications on its list of current notifications of the area.
The Centre has maintained the status of Manipur as a “disturbed area” and has removed only those under 13 police stations in five districts, yet. These, among others, involve police stations in Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Bishnupur and Kakching districts.
AFSPA is in force in nine districts, Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, Meluri and Peren of Nagaland. This notification also pertains to certain areas under police stations in the districts of Kohima, Mokokchung, Longleng, Wokha and Zunheboto.
For Arunachal Pradesh, the extent of the Project is Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. It also covers areas of Namsai district adjoining Assam under Namsai police station, Mahadevpur and Chowkham police station.
The orders are in the exercise of the powers conferred on the Central Government under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1997 which enables the Central Government to declare areas as “disturbed areas”. The Act gives special powers for use by armed forces in areas notified under the Act.
The most recent extensions follow the Centre’s previous practice of periodically assessing AFSPA for the northeastern states. The notifications state that the provisions would stand for 6 months from their publication, unless they are cancelled earlier.