Assam CM Himanta’s promise to lift the draconian AFSPA law, which gives legal immunity to armed forces and left a trail of bloodshed and injustice in its wake, heralds a new dawn for the Northeast’s biggest state. Improvements in Assam’s security situation led to this. Divisive political rhetoric mustn’t create new faultlines for re-emergence of violence
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a huge announcement today, said that he was aiming for the complete withdrawal of the controversial law AFSPA from the entire state by the end of this year.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, grants extensive authority to military personnel deployed in regions affected by unrest to conduct searches, make arrests, and use lethal force if they believe it is necessary to uphold public order .