•Manipur government has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the hill districts of the State for another six months.
•Effective October 1, the provisions of the Act will be extended to the whole State, except 19 police station limits in seven valley districts.
•The 1958 law gives power to the Army and the Central Armed Police Forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to arrest or kill anyone acting in contravention of law, search any premises without a warrant, and grant them protection from prosecution and legal suits without the Union government’s sanction.
•Both the State and Centre can issue notification regarding AFSPA.
•Currently, the Ministry of Home Affairs issues “disturbed area” notifications only for Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The notification for Manipur and Assam are issued by State govts.