AFSPA Or Nothing, Says Chairman Chiefs Of Staff

[CONNAN]

Livefist - The Best of Indian Defence: AFSPA Or Nothing, Says Chairman Chiefs Of Staff

Indian Air Force chief & Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee PV Naik laid it pretty plain on the churning issue of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Met him today at the IAF's AFNET inuguration event, where he said, "If a soldier is to be potent and effective in a counter-insurgency theatre, he must have have all the legal protection he can get." The government is expected to take a call on a controversial dilution of the AFSPA for parts of Jammu & Kashmir. The armed forces are deeply troubled, once again, about the possibility of an operational facilitator, albeit a contentious one, being sacrificed at the altar of political considerations.

In the newsroom, we're constantly bombarded with opinion about the subject. Be great to know what everyone thinks -- should the AFSPA be withdrawn or diluted in parts of Jammu & Kashmir?

 

[!!craft!!]

in my opinion it should be dissolved ..about time the army had a different approach

 

[footmarks]

I am also of the opinion that it should be removed. Of all the operational advantages it provides notwithstanding, it is clearly being either mis used or over used. And I am sure there would be some other way to gain operational advantage than AFSPA. It may be the easiest or the most obvious one, but not the ONLY one tool to control insurgency.

 

[pmukherjee]

I am also of the opinion that it should be removed. Of all the operational advantages it provides notwithstanding, it is clearly being either mis used or over used. And I am sure there would be some other way to gain operational advantage than AFSPA. It may be the easiest or the most obvious one, but not the ONLY one tool to control insurgency.

Yes there is, revoke the Disturbed Area Act. The AFSPA can operate only in an area declared as 'Disturbed Area' by the civil government. Send the Army back, say that it is not needed since the area is not 'Disturbed' and tell the state/central police /paramilitary forces to handle untoward situations that may arise.

The Army is not keen to operate in these areas, it goes there under invitation from the civil government. The civil administration invites the Army after it lets the situation get totally out of hand due to inept handling or sheer incompetence.

But once you have the Army operating at a place you have to give it the wherewithal that it needs in the form of legal protection that it must have. The Army needs extraordinary powers to operate in an extraordinary situation where militants and insurgents operate without any encumbrances and with total impunity and freedom.

You don't like the way the Army works, don't call it. Simple. No Army in the world would operate in areas like the Kashmir Valley or in the North East without appropriate legal protection.

And, let me correct you, the AFSPA is no tool for controlling insurgency. It simply gives legal protection to the troops who operate against insurgents in an area declared as 'Disturbed'.

Even a kid knows that military solution is not the ultimate solution for any insurgency. Insurgency is a political problem and has to have a political solution. The Army at a great cost to itself in the form of lost lives, injuries sustained and valuable time for training for regular warfare, can only aim to bring down the insurgency to manageable levels where the civil administration can start functioning again and the political process for seeking a solution can begin.

The problem is that the Indian Army is expected to keep a volatile and unstable situation under control indefinitely without any serious political move for seeking a lasting solution. On top of that you expect the Army to operate without any legal protection or a watered down AFSPA? Just let the insurgents hit the Army at will? With total impunity? While the Army just sits there getting hit helplessly? Really, how naive can one get? You are either not an Indian at all or you make off the cuff remarks without thinking them through.

AFSPA is clearly not the problem here. We all know what it is.

 

[deckingraj]

^^^^^^^^

I am very much in agreement here however have few doubts of my own...Let me first ponder on where i agree

- Army is called in places where civil administration failed to do the job, in other words existing system is not working.....Now if you introduce Army with no special powers how will you expect them to deliver??? This is plain stupid....If job can be done without any special act then why the hell civil administration failed in the first place????

- Now comes the disturbing question....Army is present in J&K from almost 2 decades and they had this act pretty much all the time...and we all know that operation is far from over in J&K...In short this act is definitely helping them to kill pigs coming from across the border but we are loosing support of our people...In short this is the dark side of this act...


Now what should be the way forward??? It woulod be foolish to ignore what Army is saying and what are their comfort factor...This would be disaster, on the same note it would be foolish to not do anything about this act. So yes there is need to relook at this law and see how can we do job more effectively i.e. don't make life difficult for Army and get a tap on human rights violations....

 

[Isaq Khan]

1. Kashmir's problem is Kashmiri Taliban or radical separatist. Govt. just have to arrest few people and also vanish few people from this planet.

2. Then, the problem is of bad governance and corruption by local govt.

3. Article 370 when we are not allowing kashmiris to merged with us as a mosaic how we expect they should not be alienated or brainwashed.

4. I Ask a simple question to all the people forget about Muslims.

If you are a christian or Sikh or Buddhist or Hindu how will you react if for 65 years your religious leaders like Peer saab/muftis/maulana tell you are suppressed you should wage a war??? This is not ur own country?????

5. In Kashmir its Indian govt at fault we are not allowing our people to be felt like Indian and we are allowing foreign forces to play havoc without the worry of any revenge or damage.

 

[pmukherjee]

^^^^^^^^

I am very much in agreement here however have few doubts of my own...Let me first ponder on where i agree

- Army is called in places where civil administration failed to do the job, in other words existing system is not working.....Now if you introduce Army with no special powers how will you expect them to deliver??? This is plain stupid....If job can be done without any special act then why the hell civil administration failed in the first place????

- Now comes the disturbing question....Army is present in J&K from almost 2 decades and they had this act pretty much all the time...and we all know that operation is far from over in J&K...In short this act is definitely helping them to kill pigs coming from across the border but we are loosing support of our people...In short this is the dark side of this act...


Now what should be the way forward??? It woulod be foolish to ignore what Army is saying and what are their comfort factor...This would be disaster, on the same note it would be foolish to not do anything about this act. So yes there is need to relook at this law and see how can we do job more effectively i.e. don't make life difficult for Army and get a tap on human rights violations....

hi deck, if you see my comments, I have said that Army is not a solution to insurgency. Army can at best hope to bring down the level of insurgency to manageable levels where the political machinery starts functioning again. You have to understand that insurgency arises out of certain political imbalances. These imbalances and the popular dissent arising thereof are internal in nature. However advantage is taken of the situation by external inimical forces.
Now, when the Army is introduced into the situation, all it aims to achieve is to neutralise sufficient number of insurgents or their leaders and break their hold over the population so that the civil government can once again start functioning. The Army, per se is incapable of and not equipped to address the core issues which led to the political imbalances in the first place. Without resolving these core issues, insurgency will never totally end.

It is expected that the government of the day, taking full advantage of the military successes of the Army, engages all stake holders and finds a lasting political solution to the imbroglio. Now this is what should have happened in the last two decades and this is what has not happened.

This is the crux of the problem and this is what has to be tackled post haste. AFSPA, its removal or dilution are all red herrings, total non issues. The Army can't be kept in Kashmir indefinitely. A political solution has to be found.

 

[Urbanized Greyhound]

why target the armed forces and their necessary legal protection ......all because of certain mistakes made by the local police , paramilitary and administration in controlling a situation ?
the one time the army was used ...in the Flag march it fulfilled its role to perfection.....the UPA seems to be moving from one blunder to the next....evidently they have no concrete plan in place and are merely "reacting" to the circumstances.....revoking the AFSPA and ( god forbid) then calling on the army to tackle a turbulent area ....would deal a severe dent to the army's reputation as a fail safe peace keeping unit.....and possible have an adverse effect the morale of our troops as well.....

 

[Valiant_Soul]

1. Kashmir's problem is Kashmiri Taliban or radical separatist. Govt. just have to arrest few people and also vanish few people from this planet.

2. Then, the problem is of bad governance and corruption by local govt.

3. Article 370 when we are not allowing kashmiris to merged with us as a mosaic how we expect they should not be alienated or brainwashed.

4. I Ask a simple question to all the people forget about Muslims.

If you are a christian or Sikh or Buddhist or Hindu how will you react if for 65 years your religious leaders like Peer saab/muftis/maulana tell you are suppressed you should wage a war??? This is not ur own country?????

5. In Kashmir its Indian govt at fault we are not allowing our people to be felt like Indian and we are allowing foreign forces to play havoc without the worry of any revenge or damage.

I totally agree. The way forward is scrapping Article 370 and let Kashmir integrate with India like the rest of India. Until that is done, Kashmir will remain alienated and Kashmiris are bound to have "step-brotherly" feeling in them.