SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir chief minister’s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani on Saturday said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) should be withdrawn from the Union territory first if the Centre decides to repeal it in any part of the country.
Speaking to reporters at an event here, Wani said the Narendra Modi-led government should consider withdrawing the AFSPA as the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved significantly.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under AFSPA since July 1990, after it was declared a ‘disturbed area’ by the central government, granting the military extraordinary powers to suppress rising militancy and insurgency.
Apart from J&K, AFSPA remains in effect in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
“It is our wish, and we appeal to them that they should first of all revoke it (AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir. It also seems that the situation has improved a lot on the ground. So, it will be much better if they start from Jammu and Kashmir,” the CM’s advisor said.
Asked how hopeful the J&K government was about the restoration of statehood against the backdrop of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Wani said they trust the central government with its promise.
“We are hopeful, but we also trust their promise. When the election process started, we were told about a three-pronged strategy, first delimitation, then election and then the restoration of the statehood,” he said.
Wani said that while the first two processes, the delimitation and election, have taken place, “we are now waiting for the fulfilment of the third promise”. — (PTI)