Thu Mar 27 16:48:08 UTC 2025: ## AFSPA Withdrawn from Assam’s Dibrugarh District
**GUWAHATI, INDIA –** The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been lifted from Dibrugarh district in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced Thursday. This leaves only three districts – Tinsukia, Sivasagar, and Charaideo – under the controversial law’s purview.
Sarma attributed the withdrawal to a successful request made to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The request cited the state government’s plans to develop Dibrugarh as a second capital. The central government subsequently issued a notification removing the “disturbed area” designation from Dibrugarh, thus paving the way for the AFSPA’s revocation.
The AFSPA, enacted in 1958, grants security forces wide-ranging powers, including the right to conduct operations and make arrests without warrants, while also offering them a degree of immunity from prosecution. It has been in effect in Assam since 1990, following violence linked to the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
Since Sarma took office in 2021, a gradual withdrawal of AFSPA from various districts has been underway. With Dibrugarh’s removal, the Act now applies to only three of Assam’s districts, raising hopes for its complete withdrawal from the state in the near future.
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