Kasmir Monitor: Srinagar: Thursday,
October 20, 2016.
The Jammu and
Kashmir government has not submitted any formal proposal for the withdrawal of
the controversial AFSPA Act from the state, according to an RTI reply.
“There is no
formal proposal from the state government of Jammu and Kashmir for revocation
of AFSPA,” Ministry of Home Affairs said in reply to an RTI query. Human rights
activist M M Shuja had filed an RTI to the Union Home Ministry seeking
information about the state government’s demand for revocation of AFSPA from
the state.
The Home
Ministry also said that the revocation of the AFSPA has been reviewed from time
to time. “It has been decided that time is not appropriate for withdrawal of
AFSPA from J&K.“Revocation of AFSPA has been on the agenda of both ruling
PDP and opposition National Conference, which ruled the state in coalition with
Congress from 2008 to 2014,” it said.
PDP has been
in power in the state since 2014 after forming a coalition government with the
BJP. The RTI reply said the issue of revocation of AFSPA from Jammu and Kashmir
has been raised by various sections of the society and individuals in Kashmir
valley from time to time. “Omar Abdullah (then chief minister of J&K) also
raised this issue in meeting with then Union Home Minister (P Chidambaram) on
November 14, 2011 and during Conference of Chief Ministers on Internal Security
on June 5, 2013,” it added.
In July,
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that in order to improve the situation
in the state AFSPA should be revoked from some areas, beginning with 25 to 50
police stations, as an experiment.
In reply to
an earlier RTI query in June, the Home Ministry had said that no written
request regarding revocation of the AFSPA has been received from government of
Jammu and Kashmir state in the last two years. “The situation is reviewed in
the Ministry from time to time. However, no formal meeting (has been) held
regarding revocation of AFSPA in J&K during last two years,” the ministry
had said in response to the earlier RTI application.