AFSPA required in certain areas: Army chief

Amid renewed demands for the repeal of the controversial AFSPA, Army chief Gen VK Singh on Monday said the law was a functional requirement for the armed forces in certain areas.

Amid renewed demands for the repeal of the controversial AFSPA, Army chief Gen VK Singh on Monday said the law was a functional requirement for the armed forces in certain areas.

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"Everyone knows what our view is on this subject. It is based on functional requirement and how the Army is supposed to be in a particular area," he told reporters when asked to comment on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

"It would be better if you ask the Home Ministry on this issue," Singh said when asked whether laws like AFSPA were required in the backdrop of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan and their likely impact in India.

The General said that defence minister AK Antony had asked the armed forces to monitor the happenings in the neighbourhood as its fallout could be felt in the country someday or other.

"We are discussing all kinds of issues and this would be a part of the overall discussion," Singh said when asked about delay in defence acquisition.

"Absolutely, a lot of work is being done," was Singh's reply to a question on whether enough was being done to provide weapons to modernise the Army.

The Army chief, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March, had said that India's security may be at risk as tanks were running out of ammunition, air defence was becoming obsolete and the infantry lacked critical weapons.