BJP led Assam government on Wednesday has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) for another six months claiming that law and order has improved radically. As per the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, the security forces are granted special rights and immunity in carrying out various operations in "disturbed" areas.

                                                               Representative image : Zee News – India.com

AFSPA was clamped in Assam in 1990. The official notification of the state government stated, "As per powers conferred under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, the Governor of Assam has declared the entire State of Assam as "Distubed Area" upto 6 (six) months beyond August 28, 2018, unless withdrawn earlier. This was stated in an official notification issued by the Government of Assam."

Earlier, Union home minister, Rajnath Singh had stated that the security situation in North eastern states has drastically improved.

It may be mentioned that the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the state of Assam was released on July 30, according to which 2.89 crore people have been found eligible out of the total 3.29 crore applicants. Sources said that extension of AFSPA is a precautionary measure to maintain the law and order in Assam during updation of NRC.