KL Desk
Srinagar
The AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) revocation issue received setback when the Army chief General Bikram Singh Friday emphasized that any decision on this “should not be politicised“ and said that the time is “not right” for the removal of AFSPA from Jammu and Kashmir.
“We only make recommendations. If I was to be asked, I would say that the time is not right at the moment to tamper with this enabling act. We should not take away AFSPA at this juncture,” he said when asked to comment on Union Minister Farooq Abdullah’s demand for repeal of AFSPA from the state
General Singh was speaking at the ‘India Today’ conclave in New Delhi
There have been similar demands voiced by his son and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, other political leaders and separatists in the valley.
“It is important to observe the situation and it is important to understand the security contours of the situation before we take a decision. The decision should be a pragmatic one, it should be in national interest and it should not be politicised,” he said.
Gen Singh said the Indian Army was working for strengthening the hands of the State Government and the day it feels it can handle the situation on its own, “then period. Go ahead“.
The Army Chief observed that the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control (LoC) was still intact. One of the terrorists killed in the Tuesday attack on CRPF troops in Srinagar was of Pakistani origin and a number of external factors were “impinging” on the security environment in the State, he said.
