Assam chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma said the state will continue to be under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and a decision on withdrawing it will be taken only if the present peace prevails for a longer term.
He expressed apprehension that the militant groups might not reciprocate the same way if theAFSPAis withdrawn from Assam.
Sarma, however, said that no wants to continue with AFSPA if the law and order situation is peaceful and conducive.
Stating that no state government will want to continue with AFSPA if the law and order situation is peaceful and conducive, he said “I am only saying this in the context of our state and notNagalandbecause I have no jurisdiction to do so. On Nagaland I do not have any assessment. I do not want to comment on the situation that exists in that state,” he added.
The Act was imposed in Assam in November 1990 and has been extended every six months since then after a review by the state government.
AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives a certain level of immunity to the security forces in case of an operation going wrong.