‘Disturbed area’ Act promulgated in Nagaland, Manipur

TIL Desk/National/Kohima/ The controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which allow security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant, was promulgated in Nagaland and Manipur in view of the “disturbing situations”, officials said on Wednesday.

An official of the Nagaland Home Department said in Kohima that the entire Nagaland on Wednesday was declared as a “disturbed area” for another six months by the Union Home Ministry. The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades and has not been withdrawn despite a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015 by Naga insurgent Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM).

The dominant group of the Naga outfit – NSCN-IM – had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the central government in August 1997 and since then engaged in peace talks. The outfit has held around 80 rounds of negotiations with the Central government in Delhi and even outside India after signing a ceasefire pact 23 years ago.

The central government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had signed a “framework agreement” with the NSCN-IM in 2015. The NSCN-IM and the intelligence sources said that while many of the 31 demands of the Nagas have been almost resolved during the talks with the Centre, differences remain over a separate flag and a separate constitution.