The Centre has declared entire state of Nagaland as “disturbed area” for six more months under the controversial Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), a senior Home Ministry officials said in Delhi on Monday.
According to the notification issued on Sunday on Gazette of India, the Central Government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of State of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.
“Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No. 28 of 1958) the Central Government hereby declares that whole of the said State to be a ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from 30th June, 2019 for the purpose of that Act”, the notification said.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been in force in Nagaland for several decades.
The decision to continue the declaration of Nagaland as “disturbed area” has been taken as the law and order situation in various parts of the state have been deteriorated and that on necessitated the action for the convenience of the security forces operating there, a senior official in the security set up said.
Last time, the state was declared a”disturbed area” on December 30, 2018. The state has been under AFSPA for decades now.
