Advani suggests TADA-like law for J&K

new delhi: a day after government decided to extend armed forces special powers act to new areas in jammu and kashmir, home minister l k advani suggested that a tada-like law was needed to fight militants better. advani made the suggestion in both houses of parliament when they discussed the recent killings in the state. the terrorism and disruptive activities (prevention) act (tada) lapsed in 1995, and there has been no political consensus on a replacement.killing fieldsin the rajya sabha, advani read out an extract for an old standing committee report on cross-border terrorism which said that the lack of an anti-terrorist law was a major handicap, and it let many criminals go scot-free. ``i will be happy if the government brings about a law (to counter terrorism) and it gets your cooperation,'' he said. last year, the government failed to get the opposition to support a draft anti-terrorism act. advani had raised the same issue in the lok sabha while replying to a discussion on a calling attention motion on the jammu and kashmir situation. he suggested that the states which faced terrorism should enact similar laws and not wait for a nation-level consensus. ``if necessary, i would recommend a law of this kind at the jammu and kashmir-level,'' advani said. at the beginning of the debate, advani read out a statement which mentioned the decision to extend the armed forces (jammu and kashmir) special powers act, 1990 to the remaining districts of the jammu province. the special powers act is already in force in the entire kashmir province and the 20 kilometre-belt along the indo-pakistan border in jammu region. now the entire state, barring the ladakh region, will be declared a disturbed area and covered by the act. the act gives the security forces more powers to deal with militants -- and offers considerable protection to their personnel from legal action for alleged excesses committed during operations. if a tada like law is ever enacted again it will make it easier for the government to book alleged militants. but the opposition in the past has dismissed tada as a `draconian' act directed at the muslim minority. advani said it was decided at wednesday's meeting that the state police will also step up action ``as per law'' against ``overground supporters'' of militants. though the minister did not link this with his suggestion for a tada-like law, an anti-terrorist law will make it easier to book people who ``associate'' with militants. advani rejected the suggestion that the security forces had `failed' in jammu and kashmir. vulnerable, soft targets were now being attacked only because the security forces had scored some major successes recently against militants. the home minister predicted there would always be ups and downs in the proxy war in jammu and kashmir. the opposition renewed its demand for advani's resignation on moral grounds. and to register its protest over the government's handling of the jammu and kashmir situation, almost the entire opposition walked out before he completed his reply his reply in the lok sabha. in the rajya sabha too, the opposition staged a walk-out just as advani finished speaking. the minister said the government was committed to take all possible steps for the protection of ``remote, scattered and minority populations''in jammu and kashmir. the number of special police officers (spos) --civilian volunteers who help the police, is being increased by 1000 in doda district -- where militants have stuck thrice since july 21. the existing village defence committees will be made more effective. similar defence committees for shepherds at their temporary settlements will also be ``experimented with.'' ``special intelligence-driven security force operations based on surprise and speed would also be considered as per requirements of the ground situation,'' advani said. he said the unified headquarters fighting insurgency in jammu and kashmir had been asked to ``initiate fresh tactics and modified dynamic deployments'' to instill confidence among people in affected areas like doda. advani asked the mps to appreciate that the country was fighting a proxy war unleashed by an `inimical country which had no qualms in rationalising the brutal killings of men,women and children as a `freedom struggle.''' he listed a serious of objectives the militants might be aiming at when they carried out the recent spate of attacks. these included stretching the security forces, creating a communal divide with possible repercussions in the rest of the country as well, forcing the minorities to flee to safer areas and attracting media attention. he said the security forces will not lessen their anti-infiltration posture, nor let the counter-insurgency grid in the state thin out. congress chief whip priya ranjan dasmunshi accused him of not being alert to the possibility of militant strikes after the failure of the agra summit.