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Political leadership, not army to decide on AFSPA: PDP
Advocating revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), main opposition PDP on Tuesday said though army commanders are free to air their opinion, it is the political leadership that will decide on the issue.
Advocating revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), main opposition PDP on Tuesday said though army commanders are free to air their opinion, it is the political leadership that will decide on the issue.
"It is political leadership of the country to decide on revocation of the AFSPA. Army cannot decide it," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti told reporters here.
She was reacting to the statement made by Northern Army Commander Lt General B S Jaswal, who, defending the AFSPA, had reportedly said that "the provisions of AFSPA are pious" and should not be touched. He had also compared the Act to a religious book.
"Fortunately, we are living in a democratic country where army can have its opinion but the decision is taken by the political leadership.
"We believe that army is subordinate to political leadership of the country. It is politicians to decide (on AFSPA), not Army commanders," Mehbooba said.
On the army commander calling the AFSPA document as "pious", she said, "It is his personal opinion. He is free to say so."
Meanwhile, Mehbooba lashed out at the Omar Abdullah government alleging that Jammu had become a haven for mafia and criminals.
"There is no rule of law prevailing in Jammu, the winter capital. Police has failed miserably. Jammu, which was once called as the city of temples, has today turned into a haven for drug mafia, land mafia and criminals," she said reacting to questions on the murder of a 5th class student for ransom.
