The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has finally acknowledged that the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act was a draconian law which has outlived its importance in Kashmir. Earlier the chief minister would issue contradictory statements about the issue. But now it seems that the National Conference has made up its mind to get the act revoked. Though AFSPA is not the only issue in Kashmir, yet its revocation would be of great use in areas where army is present in abundance and allegedly involved in carrying out fake encounters. New Delhi must get the act revoked from across the Jammu and Kashmir state. At the same time, police and paramilitary forces involved in civilian killings must be punished. That would be one of biggest Confidence Building Measures. The central government must ensure that murder cases are registered against the cops and CRPF men involved in firing upon unarmed protesters.

Suhail Mushtaq
Engineering Student
Srinagar 

Lastupdate on : Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST