Nagaland Declared 'Disturbed' Area For Six More Months, AFSPA to Continue Till June-End

Kohima, December 31: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday declared the entire state of Nagaland as a "disturbed area", which necessitates the validity of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to remain intact in the state. The decision was taken to ensure civilian security as killings, loot and extortion have been going on in various parts of the state, the Home Ministry said.

"Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No. 28 of 1958), the central government hereby declares that whole of the said state to be a 'disturbed area' for a period of six months with effect from 30th December, 2018, for the purpose of that Act," said the MHA notification. Nagaland Hornbill Festival Shows True Spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat': Rajnath Singh.

AFSPA, a law protested by civil society and human rights' groups, gives sweeping powers to security personnel. The Act empowers the armed forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior notice.

As per the Home Ministry order, AFSPA will remain valid in Nagaland at least till June 30. Subsequently, the Centre will take a decision on whether the state would continue to be categorised as "disturbed".

Chorus for repealing the AFSPA gained momentum since 2015, when the Narendra Modi government signed a peace accord with the prime Naga insurgent group - the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) faction led by Thuingaleng Muivah.

The promising agreement came after nearly 80 rounds of negotiation between Muivah and government interlocutor R N Ravi. It was the major fruitification of backchannel talks after the ceasefire pact was inked in 1997.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 31, 2018 03:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).