Srinagar - Indian puppet chief minister has called for revoking AFSPA on a trial basis from selected areas as a beginning towards ‘winning the hearts’ of people.
However, Mehbooba Mufti said this did not mean ‘they wanted the controversial Act to be revoked immediately and in entirety’. The Supreme Court had recently observed that the Indian Army and other paramilitary forces cannot use “excessive and retaliatory force” in regions where the AFSPA is enforced.
“The process of revoking the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act can be started on an “experimental basis”, Mehbooba said. She made the statement after she, along with her council of ministers, met Home Minister Rajnath Singh to review the situation in the state. “After revoking AFSPA in a few areas, we can assess the situation there. If successful, we can revoke it in entirety,” she added.
She said a start has to be made from somewhere to improve the situation in the state and suggested revocation of AFSPA from some areas, beginning with 25 to 50 police stations, as an experiment.
“As far as AFSPA is concerned, we were not saying that it should be revoked in one go. But, as a test case, on experimental basis, if it is revoked slowly and it can be seen how the situation remained in such areas.
“If the situation remained well, then it should be revoked entirely or it it can be reimplemented if you feel that militancy did not allow it to be revoked,” she said. “The start has to be from somewhere, the experiments have to be from somewhere like it (AFSPA) be revoked from 25 or 40 police stations to see the reaction,” she said.
Reportedly, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) official fired 2,102 pellet cartridges in the Valley to disperse protesters.
Indian newspaper Sunday Express reported over 50 per cent of the 317 people, who sustained pellet injuries, have been hit in the eye.
The use of pellet guns by CRPF is second only to tear smoke shells which have been fired over 4,500 times. The CRPF has ten mandated non-lethal weapons for use in different situations.
CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad said: “They are the last resort for us. Only after all non-lethal options are exhausted, pellet guns are used. But we are pained to see the blindings and injuries to young people. We are looking at how we can minimise the damage.” App cited Washington Post as reporting the ordinary life in Srinagar, Indian-held Kashmir, is disrupted as the authorities tried to quell the Kashmiris' protests a.
An eerie silence engulfs downtown, home to half a million people. Shortly after dawn, police and paramilitary soldiers, in full riot gear and armed with automatic rifles, swiftly occupy the roads and streets, it was reported.
New York Times says resentment among Kashmiri youths is a major cause of unrest in the Indian-occupied valley, according to the Editorial Board of influential US newspaper, the New York Times, which has criticised the powers given to the Indian troops under the Armed Forces Special Power Act, (AFSPA).