Govt Extends AFSPA In ‘Disturbed Areas’ Of 9 Nagaland And 3 Arunachal Districts
Mumbai: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued a notification enlisting nine districts in Nagaland as “disturbed areas”, where the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) will continue to remain imposed for another six months unless withdrawn earlier.
According to the new notification of the Ministry of External Affairs, the government has extended the AFSPA for another six months in the disturbed areas of the state such as Dimapur, Som and Noklak. Also Read: Govt Reduces Areas Under AFSPA In Manipur, Nagaland And Assam
In a similar notification, the MHA has extended the AFSPA to 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Namsai district bordering Assam and areas of Namsai and Mahadevapur police stations have been declared as disturbed by the government.
Earlier on Thursday, the Center relaxed the troubled areas in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) after decades. Disturbed area notification has been withdrawn from 15 police stations in seven districts of Nagaland.
The government has taken this step after improving the security situation in the Northeast region.
“The incidents of terrorism have decreased by 74 per cent in 2021 as compared to 2014. Similarly, the deaths of security personnel and civilians have also come down by 60 per cent and 84 per cent respectively during this period,” the notification said.
The notification also highlighted the government’s efforts like holding regular talks with all the states in the region to normalize the situation in the region.
“As a result, most of the extremist groups have laid down their arms expressing their faith in the Constitution of India and the policies of the Modi government. Today all these persons have become a part of the democratic process and are participating in the development of the North East. About 7,000 militants have surrendered in the last few years,” the release read.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.
