Does the Army still need special legal rights in Jammu and Kashmir?
As Bill Clinton touched down in New Delhi 12 years ago, terrorists gunned down 35 Sikhs outside a Gurdwara in Kashmir's Chittisingpora. Five days after that, security personnel claimed to have found the men who did this. And in an encounter in the village Pathribal, they said that the men they had caught and killed were terrorists. However, it later turned out after protests that the encounter in Pathribal was fake. On The Buck Stops Here, we look at the directions from the Supreme Court. For more than 11 years, the families in Pathribal have been asking those who did this to their loved ones should be punished. But the Army says it acted on the information of the police. The Defence Ministry says it was not the fake encounter but the CBI says these men should be tried. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA give Armymen legal immunity in Jammu and Kashmir. So, we debate: Whether the Army still needs legal cover in a much changed Jammu and Kashmir? And what will happen to the Pathribal encounter?
