Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Central Government will consider revoking the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir.
In an interview with the JK Media Group, Shah also said the government has plans to pull back troops in the Union Territory (UT) and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone.
“We have plans to pull back troops and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone. Earlier Jammu and Kashmir police were not trusted but today they are leading operations. We will also think of revoking AFSPA,” Shah further said.
“We will have a dialogue with the youths of Kashmir and not with the organisations that have roots in Pakistan. They are responsible for the deaths of 40,000 youths,” he added.
The AFSPA empowers the armed forces personnel who are operating in disturbed areas with powers to search, arrest and to open fire if they deem it necessary for the maintenance of public order. An area or district is notified as disturbed under the AFSPA to facilitate the operations of the armed forces.
