WHAT IS AFSPA?

This is the definition of AFSPA as taken from WIKIPEDIA for your information please. Remember Armed forces would become sitting ducks if this is not there!!!!!

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed on September 11, 1958 by the Parliament of India.[1] It conferred special powers upon armed forces in what the language of the act calls "disturbed areas" in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir as the The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 in July 1990.[2]

According to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in an area that is proclaimed as "disturbed", an officer of the armed forces has powers to:

"Fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law" against "assembly of five or more persons" or possession of deadly weapons.

To arrest without a warrant and with the use of "necessary" force anyone who has committed certain offenses or is suspected of having done so

To enter and search any premise in order to make such arrests.

It gives Army officers legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal proceeding against anyone acting under that law. Nor is the government's judgment on why an area is found to be "disturbed" subject to judicial review.

- AFSPA is an act of Parliament. If govt wants to withdraw the AFSPA from J&K (or any other part of the union) then Army should not be deployed for internal security matters. Let Army concentrate on their basic task of defending the boundaries of the nation against foreign aggression. Let CRPF and the police do the job of internal security and maintenance of law and order. If Army is called for internal security then AFSPA is required.