AFSPA revocation divides coalition partners in JK

With Amnesty International’s latest report advocating revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir, an open division between the two coalition partners—PDP and BJP has come to fore.

While the senior PDP leader and Minister for Education Naeem Akther claims that the process for scrapping the Act with an aim to establish “a civilian rule in J&K” has already been started by the government, the BJP terms the AI’s advice on AFSPA revocation as “unsolicited.”

The difference of opinion between the coalition partners PDP and BJP has, however, allowed opposition National Conference to assert that despite claiming the act would be scrapped, the ruling dispensation has made mockery of its own Agenda of Alliance.

Akther, who is also Chief spokesman of the PDP-BJP government, said that the people of J&K need to live in a democratic set up.

“We are committed to establish AFSPA free civilian rule in the State. We want people to manage their lives and to run their lives in a democratic set up. We want to give people a civil space,” he said. Akther said that AFSPA was “an emergency law.”

“It (AFSPA revocation) is a process. We have mentioned about it in our Agenda of Alliance and we are committed to scrap this act,” he said. On whether any time would be set to scrap the act, he said as such no time frame has been set. “The process has already been initiated by this government on this issue,” he said.

In a totally counter view to what PDP is asserting, BJP’s National General Secretary Ram Madhav said that the AI’s advice is unsolicited. “I would like to thank AI for its unsolicited advice. That’s what I have to say on this issue,” Madhav told over phone from New Delhi. Asked the document of Agenda of Alliance states the PDP-BJP government would roll back the act, Madhav said “Whatever is mentioned in the document is there. People can go through that.”

Pertinently, in its latest report titled “Denied: failures in accountability for human rights violation by security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir”, the AI had termed “impunity” to security forces personnel under AFSPA and “lack of political will” to get the law repealed as “long standing problems” in J&K.

The divergent opinion of PDP and BJP over the recommendations made by the AI in its report has raised the morale of Opposition NC. “The fact is that AI report on the issue of AFSPA has vindicated our stand. The former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tried his best to take all the stakeholders on board over the issue of scrapping the AFSPA, but some elements sabotaged the process,” said NC General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar. “Now the question is that Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed used to tell people during his election rallies that what previous government failed to do on AFSPA, this government will do. We want him to clarify to the people what is his present stand on the issue of revocation of AFSPA.”

Sagar said that the fresh statement from the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that AFSPA won’t go from J&K has exposed the PDP’s sell out with the BJP. “The Agenda of Alliance of PDP-BJP mentions that the act would go, but the Home Minister’s big no, for a moment, has exposed the main motive of PDP—to grab power in J&K,” Sagar said.