NEW DELHI: With the government struggling to craft its stance on the contentious question of withdrawal of Armed Forces ( Special Powers) Act from some parts of J&K, the BJP joined the debate by warning the Centre against diluting the law.

As the defence ministry insists that the views of the Army and the Unified Command need to be heeded on whether to withdraw AFSPA from certain areas in J&K, BJP weighed in to oppose withdrawal of the law which security forces consider a buffer against harassment in the name of protection of human rights.

Sources in the government confirmed that the Centre was unhappy with J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah's public announcement regarding partial rollback of the law currently in force across J&K. They said the Army has questioned the state government's decision on the ground of improved law and order situation in the state.

"AFSPA has been in force in swathes of Assam even when violence in the state never reached the level J&K has witnessed for decades," a senior defence ministry source said. In the deliberations, defence ministry also pointed out that Imphal, which is not under AFSPA unlike the rest of Manipur, has suffered more from extremist attacks.

Besides their appreciation for Army's viewpoint, many in the government and Congress advice caution on the sensitive matter also because of political considerations. They pointed out that withdrawal of AFSPA could encourage the BJP to repeat its charge of security being compromised because of political expediency; in this case to placate the J&K chief minister. They also said a rushed decision may create the same sort of complications that the party is faced with in Telangana.

The warning proved correct when leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley came out strongly to oppose the demand to scale AFSPA back. In a detailed note, the BJP leader argued that armed forces needed the protection of AFSPA in order to discharge their duties effectively.

Pointing out that AFSPA protected the security forces, including paramilitary troops, from prosecution or legal proceedings except those sanctioned by the Centre, Jaitley said withdrawal of the cover would leave the security forces hobbled. "When I visited the state last year, I was informed by the officers of paramilitary forces that more than 2,500 applications for prosecuting personnel of armed forces were pending with the central government," Jaitley said.

"If this protection (AFSPA) is withdrawn, it would empower various vested interests to prosecute officials of the armed forces and other paramilitary forces indiscriminately. Obviously, this would dis-incentivise personnel of these forces from taking adequate steps against separatist groups," he further argued.