New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the central government will consider revoking the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking to JK Media Group, Shah also said that the government plans to withdraw troops from the Union Territory (UT) and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

“We plan to withdraw the troops and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Police were not trusted but today they are leading the operation,” he said.

Regarding the controversial AFSPA, the interior minister said, “We will also consider revoking AFSPA.”

AFSPA gives armed forces personnel operating in disturbed areas broad powers to conduct searches, arrests and fire when deemed necessary “to maintain public order”.

Under the AFSPA, an area or area is notified as being disrupted in order to facilitate the operations of the armed forces.

Mr Shah had earlier said that although AFSPA remains valid in JK, it has been lifted in 70 per cent of the northeastern states.

Several organizations and individuals in JK and Northeastern states have demanded the revocation of AFSPA.

Mr Shah said the assembly elections will be held in JK by September.

“Democracy in Jammu and Kashmir is a promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it will come true. However, this democracy will not be limited to just three families but it will be a democracy of the people,” he said.

The Supreme Court has directed that assembly polls be held in the UT by September.

Regarding the issues arising with caste reservation, caste and OBC, Mr Shah said for the first time that the Modi government has given reservation to OBC in JK while women have been given one-third reservation.

“OBC reservation has been made in panchayat and urban local bodies. We have made space for SCs and STs. Pahadis have been given 10 per cent reservation without reducing the share of Gujjar and Bakarwals. And there are special provisions to accommodate Displaced people from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” he said.

He said the Center was determined to ensure that these benefits filtered down to the grassroots level.

Mr. Shah alleged that National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti were trying their best to create acrimony over these reservations, But the people now understood their intentions.

He asked why NC had not provided reservation to these people for the past 75-plus years.

The home minister claimed Abdullah traveled to the UK at the height of terrorism. He added that neither Abdullah nor Mehbooba had the right to speak on the issue.

“The number of fake conflicts they had during that period is unmatched by any other regime,” he said.

Mr Shah said there had not been a single incident of fake encounter in the past five years. Instead, FIRs were lodged against those involved in the fake encounter, he added.

“We will talk to the youth of Kashmir and not to groups with roots in Pakistan. They are responsible for the deaths of 40,000 young people,” he said.

He said the Modi government has banned 12 organizations involved in terror activities, designated 36 individuals as terrorists, registered over 22 cases to curb terror financing and seized properties worth Rs 150 crore.

As many as 90 properties have also been seized and 134 bank accounts frozen, he said.

He said: “We believe in peace, and peace cannot be bought. Whoever wants to have dialogue must do it within the confines of the constitution.”

Mr Shah said the Liberal Party meeting had no place in the dialogue process. He also made it clear that the BJP and the entire Congress consider the BJP an integral part of India.

He said: “Muslim brothers are also Indians, Hindu brothers living in PoK are also Indians, and the land illegally occupied by Pakistan also belongs to India. Taking it back is the goal of every Indian and every Kashmiri.”

The Home Minister said that there were 2,564 stone-throwing incidents in 2010 and the current number is zero.

From 2004 to 2014, a total of 7,217 terrorist incidents occurred. From 2014 to 2023, that number has dropped to 2,227, a decrease of almost 70%, he said.

Mr Shah said the total number of deaths between 2004 and 2014 was 2,829 and had fallen to 915 between 2014-23, a drop of 68 per cent.

The civilian death toll, which stood at 1,770, has decreased to 341, a decrease of 81%. He said the number of security force deaths fell by 46 percent from 1,060 to 574.

The senior BJP leader said such comprehensive changes will never happen without the support of the people.

“People who talk about Islam should know that 85 percent of those who died were our Muslim brothers and sisters,” he said.

Mr. Shah also asked the youth of JK to stay away from Pakistani conspiracies.

“Today, Pakistan is gripped by the scourge of hunger and poverty and even people there consider Kashmir as paradise. I want to tell everyone that if anyone can save Kashmir, it is Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

The Home Minister said the Modi government is boosting the morale of the security forces by providing employment opportunities to the families of martyrs.

“Today, not a single family member of a martyr has lost his or her job,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)