Centre asks N-E states to get ready to fight insurgency, trafficking

Having removed the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from several areas of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur earlier this year, and having expressed willingness to progressively remove them from other areas as well, the Centre has asked police forces of the states concerned to assess their preparedness to meet security challenges and lead counterinsurgency operations henceforth.

Organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Intelligence Bureau with an aim to foster greater cooperation among state police forces in combatting insurgency and smuggling, the two-day conference in Agartala, Tripura, wound up on Wednesday.

The recommendations included extension of intelligence sharing mechanisms from state to district headquarters, with senior officers monitoring the whole mechanism.

The conference, which also discussed developments in Myanmar, counter-smuggling measures and means to stop illicit drug trade, assumes significance since it came in the backdrop of Tuesday’s clash between Assam Police and people from Meghalaya, leaving six  dead.