Kashmir turmoil not linked to AFSPA: Raju (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - Ruling out dilution or revocation of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir, Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju Tuesday said the army was being unncessarily demonised. The issue in the troubled state was related to the aspirations of the people and not the law that gives sweeping powers to the forces in fighting terrorism, he added.

“This (AFSPA) has been an essential element for the armed forces to move confidently in fighting terrorism. You have to give some kind of security blanket for the forces who are doing a tough job,” Raju told reporters.

He said the act that gives legal immunity to the armed forces in their operations against terrorists was crucial to give them an “upper hand in neutralizing what they perceive as a threat”.

Asked about the revocation of the act from the areas in Kashmir that have seen a decline in militant violence over the years, the minister said it was not possible because “it needs very little time for terrorists to move from one area to the area and spread the trouble”.

Describing the AFSPA as a “necessary security blanket”, Raju said: “The situation in Kashmir has not come down to normalcy and the (AFSPA) act cannot be amended or removed even from select areas.”

Without naming Pakistan, the minister said “elements who are fomenting trouble” in the state were still active.

He said the army was being “demonised” and made a “scapegoat” in Jammu and Kashmir by narrowing down the issue to the dilution of the AFSPA or its removal.

“The army is not responsible for the current situation in Kashmir… My assessment is that the bigger challenge is meeting the aspirations of the people of the state. That can be achieved by good governance at the central and state levels. The aim should be to bring about peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and the presence of the army is helping that cause,” Raju stressed.

He said the government was conscious that normalcy needed to be restored in all areas of Jammu and Kashmir and “from that point of view we trying to minimise the use of armed forces”.

“Visibility of armed forces is very less now. The army is moving away from civilian areas and all the government buildings and we are paying huge compensation for agricultural land,” he said.

He said the situation, from the terror point of view, “is not normal” in Jammu and Kashmir and pointed out that infiltration attempts by militants from across the border were continuing even as the the number of infiltrators has gone down in recent years.