AFSPA Stretched Again! Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Brace for Six More Months

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been extended for another six months across Manipur—save for 13 police station zones—alongside targeted swathes of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, the Union Home Ministry declared Sunday.

Effective April 1, 2025, the move, rooted in a fresh review of law-and-order woes, hands security forces sweeping powers in these “disturbed areas” amid simmering unrest.

In Manipur, reeling under President’s Rule since February and ethnic strife since May 2023, AFSPA blankets the state except for pockets in Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Bishnupur, and Kakching districts.

Nagaland sees eight districts—Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, and Peren—plus 21 police station areas in five others locked under the Act. Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts, plus three police stations in Namsai near Assam, join the list, fueled by lingering security threats near Myanmar’s border.

The 1958 law, a lightning rod for controversy, arms forces with the ability to search, arrest, and fire if deemed necessary, shielded from prosecution without Central nod. Critics decry it as draconian; defenders call it a bulwark against chaos.

As the clock ticks to September 30, 2025—unless yanked earlier—this extension underscores a tense Northeast, where peace remains a stubborn mirage.