Army 'disciplined’, AFSPA won't be revoked in Kashmir, says J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti hon Friday said Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir won’t be repealed due to the deteriorating security situation in the valley.

Replying to CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami on the issue of revocation of AFSPA, Mufti said, “If the situation deteriorates, the footprint of security forces will increase. If militancy or stone pelting increases, you will see more footprint of police. We don’t want that to happen.”

“Can AFSPA be revoked in such a situation? Is it realistic?” the Chief Minister asked.

Praising Indian Army amid the issue of Shopian killings of civilians, she said the Indian Army is the “most disciplined” force in the world and have made “huge sacrifices” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Indian Army is most disciplined.  It was instrumental in bettering the security situation... that is the reason we are here today... They have made huge sacrifices,” Mufti said.

Also Read | Kashmiri students assaulted in Haryana, Mehbooba Mufti demands probe

Reacting to the questions raised by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the fate of an FIR registered against Army personnel over the killing of three civilians in Shopian last month, Mufti said, “The Army has a great reputation, but when someone commits a wrong legal process has to follow.”

She said, the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir is reaching out to Valley’s youths, who have taken up arms, to bring them back into the mainstream.

Mehbooba hoped that “all shades of opinion” in Jammu and Kashmir would join the dialogue process initiated by the Centre’s representative Dineshwar Sharma to “cut through the unending cycle of violence and uncertainty in the state”.