It is understandable that the armed forces are unwilling to let go the extraordinary powers and protection that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) provides in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. It is also understandable that there could be difference of opinion in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting which met last Monday to decide whether to withdraw such powers to cool the frayed nerves in the Valley.

What is not is the way the prime minister chairing the CCS meet shied away from taking a decisive position on the issue. The measure of a true leader is in taking tough decisions in tough situations. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to withdraw the AFSPA given its draconian provisions and evidence of its misuse in the Valley.

The law not only gives the armed forces right to “shoot to kill”, it empowers them to arrest anyone without warrant and raid and destroy a place on a mere suspicion. The normal judicial recourse available to the victims also breaks down as there is no fixed time limit for an arrested persons to be produced before a court or prosecute an armed personnel for excessess without prior permission of the central government.

Building political consensus by calling an all-party meeting (which is scheduled for tomorrow) is fine. But that could have been done any time in the past three months that the Valley has been burning. Leadership is also about taking timely initiative for it to be effective. Hasn’t the prime minister already frittered away precious time by taking too long to make up his mind?