PDP Hails Amnesty’s Recommendation for Removal of AFSPA From J&K

Hailing Amnesty International’s recommendation for removal of controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir, the ruling PDP on Friday said it has vindicated the party’s stand on the issue.

PDP spokesperson Mehboob Beg, in a statement, appealed to the Central government to consider the recommendation made by the international human rights body in its report ‘Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’ and said it is a “vindication of PDP’s stand on the issue”.

“It does not behove a democratic country like India to have a draconian law like AFSPA exist in any part,” he added.

Calling AFSPA as one of the “primary facilitators of impunity” by security forces, Amnesty International had on Wednesday demanded its repeal and sought investigation into cases of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir by an “independent and impartial” authority.