Nagaland declared disturbed area, AFSPA extended for 6 more months

Our Reporter

Dimapur, July 1 (EMN): The government of India on Tuesday declared the whole of Nagaland as “disturbed area” under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act  (AFSPA) 1958, for a period of six more months, starting from June 30 till December.

The notification published in The Gazatte of India issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that 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.

“In exercise of the power 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 state to be a disturbed area for a period of six months with effect from June 30 2020 for the purpose of that Act,” it stated.

It may be mentioned that Nagaland has been under the AFSPA for almost six decades. This law, which is being slammed by civil society organisations as “draconian”, has not been withdrawn even after a framework agreement was signed between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) and the government interlocutor RN Ravi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 3, 2015.