NEW DELHI: The Union government on Monday signed a historic peace accord with Nagaland’s insurgent group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) (NSCN(I-M)) aimed at ending the country’s longest running insurgency for the last two decades.
Ahead of the Independence Day, the signing of the pact is the culmination of more than 80 rounds of negotiations that spanned 16 years with the first breakthrough in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed.
The deal was announced at a joint event at the Prime Minister’s 7 RCR residence in the presence of Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, top government officials, NSCN(I-M) chief Thuingaleng Muivah and other leaders of the group. Interlocutor for Naga Peace Talks, R N Ravi, signed the agreement on behalf of the government of India. Isak Chishi Swu, chairman, and Th Muivah, general secretary, were the signatories on behalf of the NSCN.
“This is not merely the end of a problem, but the beginning of a new future,” Modi said on the occasion.