I am not a journalist, I am not a army men, neither I am citizen of one of the states where AFSPA has been imposed. So, there is no reason why comment should be taken seriously and I may not have enough information to formulate a right opinion in this regard. I cite following reasons for my opinion
It's true that Army men will have their life endangered on the removal of AFSPA. I am not an expert strategist in counter insurgency operations but there should be some way out of this problem. For example, 50% of the army personals appointed in an an area can be appointed from the local population. So that there is a mutual feeling of sympathy among the army men and the local population. Secondly, hiring local population means that you are creating employment. Though the counter point may be that this way, the locals are getting weapons and they may support insurgent forces. But there is no way out. When trust is broken, no side wants to trust the other; to regain trust one has to make the first move. If India treats Kashmir like any other state and is able to provide education and employment to the citizens, I don't think any anti-social element will be able take advantage of the "gaps" to incite insurgency.
It's true that Army men will have their life endangered on the removal of AFSPA. I am not an expert strategist in counter insurgency operations but there should be some way out of this problem. For example, 50% of the army personals appointed in an an area can be appointed from the local population. So that there is a mutual feeling of sympathy among the army men and the local population. Secondly, hiring local population means that you are creating employment. Though the counter point may be that this way, the locals are getting weapons and they may support insurgent forces. But there is no way out. When trust is broken, no side wants to trust the other; to regain trust one has to make the first move. If India treats Kashmir like any other state and is able to provide education and employment to the citizens, I don't think any anti-social element will be able take advantage of the "gaps" to incite insurgency.
