Opposition stages walkout in J-K Assembly

Condemning the recent directive of a senior police official restricting security personnel from carrying lethal weapons on duty, Opposition parties today walked out from the J-K Assembly saying it has made them an easy target for militants.
ADGP (Law and Order), on March 1, had issued a directive which said that all the security forces deployed on all law and order duty should not carry firearms and weapons.
Members of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party and Jammu State Morcha expressed concern over the issue of unarmed security personnel with some MLAs from Congress coming out in support of their views.

"We want to ask how are security forces to fight militants with batons in their hands - you have made them sitting ducks for the militants," JKNPP leader Harshdev Singh said.
He demanded revocation of the directive and called for suitable weapons for security personnel to fight militants.
"The security forces are being demoralised by such policies," Singh added.

Attacks on unarmed security forces have seen eight personnel being killed by militants in the last fortnight.
The Congress members joined the opposition MLAs in demanding more arms in the hands of those fighting terror.
"The number of unarmed security personnel killed in recent attacks... Is unjustified," said Congress MLA GM Saroori.

He was backed by party MLA Mohammad Sharief Niaz who said militancy cannot be wiped out by arming security forces with sticks after taking away their weapons.
"How can they fight (against) the sophisticated weapons of militants with batons in their hands, they should be re-armed," Niaz said.
However, Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo dismissed talk of en masse unarming of personnel and said the directive in question actually advised against the use of arms while dealing with law and order problems.
He was supported by ruling National Conference members Nasir Aslam Wani, Abdul Gani Malik and Dr Mustafa Kamaal who said that Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) for security forces had been well thought out at the highest level.

CRPF Director General Pranay Sahay, who recently reviewed his forces in Srinagar said that the SOPs for them mandated that one-third of the force, when out on security and law and order duties, would be carrying arms and are required to secure the rest of the squad armed with batons and riot-gear.
Opposition members also referred to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act during the debate on the arms to security personnel but the NC legislators said that the Act and the attacks in question were separate matters.
Unsatisfied by the reply, JKNPP, JSM and rebel BJP members took up slogans against the government and, amidst the uproar staged a walkout from the House.