The Union government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA) in Nagaland for six more months .

The Central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the “whole of the State of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.

The announcement was made through a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs amid calls from the Northeastern state to withdraw it after the firing incident near Oting Village in Nagaland’s Mon district that left 14 civilians and one jawan dead on December 4.

‘Pushing Northeast into abyss of lawlessness, insurgency and chaos’

Reacting to this, the Congress accused the Narendra Modi-led BJP government of pushing the Northeast into an abyss of lawlessness, insurgency and chaos.

“The utter lack of understanding of the ethos of its people, its diversity, its concerns and attempt to annihilate democracy to usurp power has led us to the current state,” tweeted Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

This comes just days after the Union government formed a seven-member committee to suggest withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958 (AFSPA) from Nagaland and asked to submit its report within three months.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Northeast India Division, in an order on December 26, stated that “In order to review AFSPA in Nagaland a committee is constituted.”

As per the MHA order, the “terms of the reference of the committee shall be to review the application of AFSPA in Nagaland and make suitable recommendations within a period of three months”.

Government sources told ANI that the decision was taken after Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting at his residence on December 23 to discuss the present scenario in Nagaland. The meeting was attended by the Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma.

What is AFSPA? 

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 grants certain special powers to a member of the Armed Forces in areas in the Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

The powers were also extended to forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir as well.

In a ‘disturbed area’, a military officer can fire upon an unlawful assembly of five or more people if the need arises or even for illegal possession of firearms.

No arrest and search warrants are required for any operation.