Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA:
A committee constituted by the Union Home Ministry in December to study the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, from Nagaland, slated to submit a report within 45 days as claimed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, is yet to conclude its findings
- The panel was formed in the wake of growing civilian anger against the botched ambush by an elite unit of the Army that led to the killing of 13 civilians at Oting in Nagaland’s Mon district on December 4.
- The six-member committee, headed by Registrar-General of India Vivek Joshi, made a solitary visit to the State in January.
- The announcement of the constitution of the committee was made by the Nagaland Chief Minister in Kohima on December 26.
- Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a law that gives enormous discretionary powers to the armed forces over a civilian population.
- Currently, AFSPA is in effect in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (with the exception of the Imphal municipal area) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
- It has been retained in Arunachal for areas bordering Assam and Myanmar.
- In Arunachal Pradesh, the ‘disturbed area’ notification is confined to the districts of Tirap, Changlang and Longding, and the areas falling under Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations, bordering Assam.
