NEW DELHI--When the new J&K assembly convenes for the first time on Wednesday, the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government will find itself in a tricky position on a promise it had made.
In its alliance agenda, the PDP-BJP coalition has promised to “examine the need for denotifying disturbed areas” that would “enable the union government to take a final view on the continuation of AFSPA in these areas”. The reason the government will face the heat on this promise is that the Act and the notifications declaring these areas “disturbed” have lapsed or expired in the first place.
The Disturbed Areas Act lapsed in 1998 and was never renewed. The notifications issued by the state (under AFSPA) in 2001 and 2005, declaring J&K “disturbed”, lapsed within six months.
When contacted, Law Minister Syed Basharat Bukhari said he would have to ascertain the facts on this. Law Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Mir agreed that the Disturbed Areas Act lapsed in 1998. “That Act was passed by the assembly in 1997 and it was valid only for one year. It wasn’t renewed,’’ he said. He said the state government issued a notification under section 3 of AFSPA — first in 2001 and subsequently in 2005 — to declare various districts as disturbed.
The Disturbed Areas Act was enforced in 1990, when Mufti was union home minister, former advocate general Ishaq Qadri said. “During governor’s rule it was renewed. In 1997, when this law expired, the then state government renewed it for one year. But due to pressure, the government didn’t renew it,’’ he said. “They (PDP-BJP) are only creating confusion.”
Former minister and NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar too said that the PDP knows they won’t able to do anything about AFSPA and are only misleading people.
The J&K Disturbed Areas Act, 1997 was the first such passed by the National Conference government, replacing similar laws enacted during President’s rule in 1992 and during Governor’s rule in 1990. After it lapsed in 1998, the J&K government in 2001 issued an order to extend disturbed areas to Jammu province but said that it was in addition to districts of Kashmir valley. “The government issued another notification in 2005,’’ Mir said. “This was nothing to do with the Disturbed Areas Act. These notifications were issued under section 3 of AFSPA,’’ he said.
The Indian Express
