AFSPA Extended in Eight Districts of Nagaland and Three in Arunachal Pradesh
- Posted on September 26, 2024
- News
- By Arijit Dutta
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The AFSPA has been extended in eight districts of Nagaland and three districts of Arunachal Pradesh due to ongoing security concerns. This designation, which grants the armed forces broad powers, will remain effective for six months starting October 1, 2024, following recent government reviews of the regions' law-and-order situations.
The Central government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in eight districts of Nagaland and three districts of Arunachal Pradesh after reassessing the law-and-order situation in these regions. The AFSPA grants armed forces in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest, and open fire when necessary to maintain public order.
According to the Union home ministry’s notification, eight districts and 21 police stations in five other districts of Nagaland have been designated as ‘disturbed areas’ for six months starting from October 1, 2024. These districts include Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, and Peren.
In a separate notification, the government also extended the AFSPA in Arunachal Pradesh, declaring Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts, along with areas within the Namsai, Mahadevpur, and Chowkham police stations, as disturbed areas for six months beginning October 1, 2024. These regions border Assam, and the decision follows a review of security and law-and-order conditions.
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The AFSPA empowers the military to take action deemed necessary to maintain public order in these regions. The law is controversial due to its broad scope, which includes the right to conduct searches without warrants, make arrests, and use force, even lethal, under specified circumstances. These areas will remain under the AFSPA until further notice unless the government decides to withdraw the designation earlier.