Centre has declared the entire State of Nagaland a “disturbed area” for six more months under the controversial AFSPA, which empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without prior notice.
In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the Central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole State of Nagaland is in such a “disturbed and dangerous condition” that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.
“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No. 28 of 1958), the Central government hereby declares that whole of the said State to be a ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from June 30, 2019 for the purpose of that Act,” the notification said.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been in force in Nagaland for several decades. It was not withdrawn even after a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015 by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and government interlocutor R.N. Ravi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The framework agreement came after more than 80 rounds of negotiations over 18 years. The first breakthrough came in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency.
