Reducing army's footprint

Reducing Army’s Footprint
It’s draconian, it’s deadly and it’s detested. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) imposed in the regions of Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East is highly unpopular with the civil society, Human rights group and the people of these states. It vests with the security forces unrestricted and unaccounted power. There are allegations that the Act has been grossly misused in the areas of its operation. Disturbed Areas Act as well as the Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act, both of which have been applied to the state since 1990, when militants from Pakistan crossed the Line of Control and instigated an insurgency that was to claim thousands of lives over the next couple of decades. Civilians have come to dread both pieces of legislation because they empower security forces to arrest without warrant, enter and search premises in order to make such arrests, fire or use force against those assembling in numbers larger than five, while officials cannot be sued or prosecuted because they are provided with legal immunity. A Report by the government appointed team of three interlocutors and data provided by the Union government published on Thursday supports the call given by the J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to remove it partially from districts of Srinagar, Badgam, Samba and Jammu.
The analysis of central government recently published data shows that insurgency hit state is safer than many of its peaceful counterparts like Haryana. In population-adjusted terms, violent deaths in J&K — those of terrorists and security force personnel, as well as murders of civilians, whether terrorism-related or otherwise — were at the same level as in Bihar, and not significantly higher than in Delhi. Violence due to militancy & terrorist activity has seen a steady decline since 2001-2002. In 2004, 707 civilians, 976 terrorists and 281 police and military personnel were killed. In 2009, the numbers plummeted to 64 security personnel, 78 civilians and 239 terrorists.
Even though Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has backed the idea, New Delhi has proved unwilling to act, due to bitter resistance by the Indian Army, BJP & Congress itself. The Union government is in a fix since defence and the home ministries are pulling in different directions. The State government contends that the decline in violence, as well as enhancements in police strength, means a number of these troops could be withdrawn and, as they leave, the Act lifted. The Army acknowledges the decline in violence, but argues that there is a continued threat from across the Line of Control, which necessitates the Act remaining in place. Many argue that the AFSPA-free enclaves will be safe havens for terrorists and militants. This makes little sense, since the Army is not present in these enclaves anyway and has no security responsibilities. These areas are largely managed by the local police assisted by CRPF. Chief Minister Abdullah's proposal leads to some risks. Yet not taking those risks involves heavy costs — key among them, creating a reservoir of frustration and anger that will undermine the hard-won peace that so many Indian soldiers gave their lives for. Looking at the stability which the north-eastern states have already achieved with the help of local police, the time has come when a well trained & equipped J&K police should be given the responsibility to manage peace and security of their own region. It`s time to think beyond AFSPA now and give its withdrawal a chance.