The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in 1958 to bring under control what the government of India considered ‘disturbed’ areas.
AFSPA has been imposed in the Northeast states, Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjab during the militancy years.
Punjab was the first state from where it was repealed, followed by Tripura and Meghalaya. Tripura withdrew the AFSPA in 2015. The Centre revoked it in Meghalaya on April 1, 2018. Earlier, the AFSPA was effective in a 20 km area along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
Jammu and Kashmir too has a similar Act.
It is effective in the whole of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the impact of AFSPA was reduced to eight police stations instead of 16 police stations and in Tirap, Longding and Changlang districts bordering Assam.
The Act has often faced flak from human rights groups as it gave sweeping powers and immunity to the army in conflict-ridden areas.
