Good morning, from the repeal of AFSPA in several parts of the Northeast to the latest on the Ukraine war – here are the top reads from today’s edition. The Big Story
Amid a long-standing demand for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958, the Centre Thursday significantly reduced its footprint. AFSPA will be withdrawn entirely from 23 districts in Assam, and partially from seven districts in Nagaland, six districts in Manipur, and one district in Assam.
Chief ministers across the Northeast hailed the decision as “historic” and a “big step” for peace in the region.
Why is this decision significant? Well, AFSPA gives sweeping powers to the armed forces. The Northeast has lived under the shadow of AFSPA for nearly 60 years, creating a feeling of alienation from the rest of the country. The move is expected to help demilitarise the region; it will lift restrictions of movements through check points and frisking of residents.
Only in the Express With Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan facing the no-confidence motion, Sharat Sabharwal writes: “Though Khan has proved to be utterly inept, his fate begs the question — yet again — whether any prime minister, even the most competent one, can succeed in Pakistan without a radical shift in its internal and external orientation. The civil-military imbalance ends up paralysing every PM.” From the Front Page Hours before the Russian Foreign Minister arrived in India, United States Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said that there will be “consequences” for countries that “actively attempt to circumvent the sanctions”. Calling for democracies to come together amid the war in Ukraine, he said, “I don’t think anyone would believe that if China once again breached the Line of Actual Control, Russia would come running in India’s defence.” In an order granting bail to the three Kashmiri students held on sedition charges for their comments following the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match last year, the Allahabad High Court said, “The unity of India is not made of bamboo reeds which will bend to the passing winds of empty slogans.” Must Read
An unscripted sharp exchange between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and visiting British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, highlighted the divergences between New Delhi and London on the issue of sanctions on Russia. Jaishankar said that talk of sanctions “looks like a campaign” and it was Europe that was buying more oil from Russia than before the war. In response, Truss said: “I feel a strong responsibility on behalf of the United Kingdom to take all the action we can, to support the people of Ukraine but that is not the same as going around telling other countries what to do”. First Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan was evicted from a bungalow allotted to his late father Ram Vilas Paswan. Now, the next big eviction on the government’s radar is of former Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from 27, Safdarjung Road, a bungalow that was allotted to Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia last year. A corner bungalow near Safdarjung’s Tomb in Lutyens’ Delhi, it was home to the Scindias for years. It was earlier allotted to Scindia’s late father, Madhavrao Scindia, when he was a Union minister. And Finally... Chennai Super Kings posted 211 but ran out of quality bowling options by the end as Evin Lewis’ 55 off 23 led Lucknow Super Giants to a six-wicket victory. We break down the match and what went wrong for CSK. 🤫 Delhi Confidential: From the 1960s hit Tamil song ‘Mouname paarvaiyaal Oru paattu paatavendum’, to the Kishore Kumar number classic ‘Ruk jaana nahin tu kahin haarke’ — many songs were sung by lawmakers in honour of a group of retiring MPs. At a dinner hosted by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, MPs from across the political divide entertained each other with songs. 🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things podcast’, Indian Express’ Nirupama Subramanian explains why Imran Khan finds himself in this position, and what he is doing to fight back. Until tomorrow, Rahel Philipose and Sonal Gupta
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