Amit Shah said government plans to leave law and order only to J&K Police (File)
New Delhi:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the central government will consider repealing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir.
In an interview with JK Media Group, Mr Shah also said that the government is planning to withdraw troops in the Union Territory (UT) and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
“We have plans to withdraw troops and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Police were not trusted, but today they are leading the operations,” he said.
On the controversial AFSPA, the Home Secretary said, “We will also think of withdrawing AFSPA.”
The AFSPA gives armed forces personnel operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire as they deem necessary for “the maintenance of law and order.”
An area or district is declared disturbed under the AFSPA to facilitate the operations of the armed forces.
Mr Shah had earlier said that the AFSPA has been removed in 70 per cent of areas in the northeastern states even though it is in force in JK.
There have been demands from various organizations and individuals in JK and the North Eastern states to withdraw the AFSPA.
Mr Shah said the Assembly elections will be held in JK before September.
“Entrenching democracy in Jammu and Kashmir is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise and it will be fulfilled. However, this democracy will not be limited to three families alone but will be a people’s democracy,” he said.
The Supreme Court had ordered that the parliamentary elections at the UT be held before September.
On the issues raised around reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs, Mr Shah said for the first time that the OBCs of JK have been given reservation by the Modi government and women have been given one-third reservation.
“OBC reservations have been made in the panchayat and urban local bodies. We have made room for the SCs and the STs. Without reducing the share of Gujjar and Bakarwals, the Pahadis have been given 10 percent reservation. And special provisions have been made. Steps have been taken to accommodate the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” he said.
The Center is committed to ensuring that these benefits trickle down to the grassroots level, he said.
Mr Shah alleged that National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tried their best to create bitterness over these reservations but people have now understood their intentions.
He asked why the NC has not made reservations for these people in the last 75 years.
The Home Secretary claimed that Abdullah had left for England when terrorism was at its peak. Both Abdullah and Mehbooba have no right to speak on the matter, he added.
“The number of fake encounters that took place during that time has not been matched by any other regime,” he said.
Mr Shah said there has not been a single fake encounter in the last five years. Instead, the FIRs have been filed against the people involved in fake encounters, he added.
“We will have a dialogue with the youth of Kashmir and not with the organizations that have roots in Pakistan. They are responsible for the deaths of 40,000 young people,” he said.
He said the Modi government has banned 12 organizations for their involvement in terror activities, declared 36 individuals as terrorists, registered more than 22 cases to stop terror financing and seized properties worth Rs 150 crore.
As many as 90 properties have been seized and 134 bank accounts have been frozen, he said.
“We have established peace, and peace cannot be bought. Anyone who wants to engage in dialogue must do so within the ambit of the Constitution,” he said.
Mr Shah said the Hurriyat Conference has no place in the dialogue process. He also made it clear that the BJP and the entire Parliament believe that POK is an integral part of India.
“The Muslim brothers are also Indians and the Hindu brothers living in POK are also Indians and the land illegally occupied by Pakistan also belongs to India. It is the goal of every Indian, every Kashmiri to get it back,” he said. .
The Home Minister said there were 2,564 cases of stone pelting in 2010, which is now zero.
Between 2004 and 2014 there were 7,217 terrorist incidents. That was reduced to 2,227 between 2014 and 2023, a reduction of almost 70 percent, he said.
Mr Shah said the total number of deaths between 2004 and 2014 was 2,829 and fell to 915 during 2014-2023, which is a decline of 68 per cent.
The number of civilian casualties was 1,770 and has fallen to 341, which is a decrease of 81 percent. Deaths among security forces fell from 1,060 to 574, a decline of 46 percent, he said.
The senior BJP leader said without the support of the people, such a comprehensive change can never happen.
“The people who talk about Islam should know that 85 percent of those killed were our Muslim brothers and sisters,” he said.
Mr. Shah also asked the youth of JK to stay away from Pakistan’s conspiracies.
“Today, Pakistan is enveloped in the scourge of hunger and poverty and even the people there consider Kashmir as heaven. I want to tell everyone that if anyone can save Kashmir, it is Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
The Home Minister said the Modi government is boosting the morale of security forces by giving jobs to the family members of the martyrs.
“Today, no family of martyrs is without a job,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)