AFSPA: Antony says threat to J&K cannot be ignored

Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony with Army Chief V.K. Singh, Navy Chief Admiral NIrmal Verma and Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik pay homage at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

Against the backdrop of demands for revoking AFSPA from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Friday said though violence levels have come down, cross-border infiltration attempts were still on in the state and the “threat” there can’t be ignored.

“Even though violence level has reduced substantially, attempts at infiltration are still persisting... We can’t ignore the threat,” he told reporters at the 40th Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) of Bangladesh Liberation War.

The Minister was asked to comment on the demands for revoking of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some parts of the state in view of a recent terrorist attack on a senior Minister there.

“We have to be alert in our border areas 24X7,” Mr. Antony said.

State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been pressing for revocation of the controversial law from certain parts of J&K.

He has held several meetings with the Cabinet ministers and other stakeholders in-charge of security in the state.

The Army is against the withdrawal of the Act from the state, saying such a move will hamper its operations there.

The Government had last year decided to leave it to the Unified Command chaired by the state Chief Minister to take a decision on partial withdrawal of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir.