Time to relax Kashmir security laws: Omar Abdullah
Earlier this year, UN special rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya demanded the Indian government repeal the AFSPA.
SRINAGAR:
Tough laws that fuel much of the public unrest in the disputed state of Indian Kashmir could be withdrawn due to a fall in violence, the region's chief minister said Wednesday.
The widely-detested Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gives security forces sweeping powers on detention, shooting of suspected militants and destruction of property suspected to be used as hideouts.
It has been in force since 1990 across Indian Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region of north India where a 20-year insurgency against rule from New Delhi has cost tens of thousands of lives.
Indian Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, speaking after a meeting on Tuesday in New Delhi with Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, said progress could be made towards relaxing the laws.
"Omar Abdullah said that the gradual improvement in the security scenario and restoration of peace has paved the way for revocation of AFSPA in peaceful areas of the state," a statement from his office said.
Earlier this year, UN special rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya demanded the Indian government repeal the AFSPA.
Militant violence has dropped sharply in Kashmir since India and Pakistan, which each hold the region in part but claim in full, started a peace process in 2004.
But anti-India sentiment still runs deep in the Kashmir valley, which last year witnessed some of the biggest protests ever against Indian rule.
Over 110 people were killed, mostly by security forces.
This summer has been peaceful, resulting in the arrival of more than 700,000 tourists, the highest number since the insurgency began.
Tough laws that fuel much of the public unrest in the disputed state of Indian Kashmir could be withdrawn due to a fall in violence, the region's chief minister said Wednesday.
The widely-detested Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gives security forces sweeping powers on detention, shooting of suspected militants and destruction of property suspected to be used as hideouts.
It has been in force since 1990 across Indian Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region of north India where a 20-year insurgency against rule from New Delhi has cost tens of thousands of lives.
Indian Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, speaking after a meeting on Tuesday in New Delhi with Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, said progress could be made towards relaxing the laws.
"Omar Abdullah said that the gradual improvement in the security scenario and restoration of peace has paved the way for revocation of AFSPA in peaceful areas of the state," a statement from his office said.
Earlier this year, UN special rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya demanded the Indian government repeal the AFSPA.
Militant violence has dropped sharply in Kashmir since India and Pakistan, which each hold the region in part but claim in full, started a peace process in 2004.
But anti-India sentiment still runs deep in the Kashmir valley, which last year witnessed some of the biggest protests ever against Indian rule.
Over 110 people were killed, mostly by security forces.
This summer has been peaceful, resulting in the arrival of more than 700,000 tourists, the highest number since the insurgency began.