Imphal: Eight Manipuri women, who shocked the nation five months ago by staging a nude protest against the alleged rape and killing of a woman by Armed forces, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who assured them of a "credible solution" to the controversy over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The meeting at Raj Bhawan in Imphal yesterday (Nov 21, 2004) took place after the Prime Minister expressed his desire to have an interaction with the women, official sources said.

The sources quoted Singh as having told the delegation that the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government had a "sincere desire to find a credible solution to the issue while protecting the national security interests".

This assurance comes after a long-drawn demand in Manipur for the scrapping of the AFSPA. Two weeks back, when the Apunba Lup, a conglomerate of Manipuri groups agitating against the AFSPA, had met the Prime Minister, he had held the hand of a weeping mother and said, "We will do something."

According to sources, after the Apunba Lup delegation left, he called his officials to discuss the issue and announced that a more humane law should be created.

Throughout his current visit to the Northeast, Singh has been informing the people about the formation of a committee that will point out the weaknesses and aberrations in the AFSPA and recommend changes in the law or call for replacing it with a more humane law.