Srinagar: The Army on Saturday said it has
given its recommendations on the applicability of Armed Forces
Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state to Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and is yet to get a response.
"The committees gave their recommendations to the
Chief Minister and thereafter we have not heard anything about
this issue as yet," General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of
Army`s northern command Lt General K T Parnaik told reporters
on the sidelines of a function here.
Jammu and Kashmir last year formed two committees to
review the applicability of AFSPA in the state. The two
committees were headed by General Officer Commanding of the
Srinagar based 15 Corps and General Officer Commanding of
Nagorta-based 16 Corps.
Parnaik said one of the recommendations included that
"time was not ripe" for removing AFSPA from the state.
"This was not the only recommendation...there were
host of issues spelled out to try and clarify why AFSPA is
required in JK in the larger interest of security," he said.
The Army commander said that unless the "terrorist
infrastructure" across the Line of Control and in the Valley
is dismantled, "we cannot have a sense of lasting peace".
PTI
