NEW DELHI: The Naga peace accord may be sealed before Christmas, with top leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issak-Muivah faction) arriving for talks in Delhi on Tuesday. The Centre is keen on resolving the issue soon.
NSCN (IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah, emissary of the NSCN (IM) collective leadership VS Atem and other top leaders such as RH Raising reached Delhi to finalise the agenda and date of the next meeting.
Former IB special director AK Mishra will continue to represent the government.
While an official announcement is yet to be made about Mishra’s appointment as the new interlocutor for the Naga peace talks, the government has given all indications of the same.
In a letter written recently to the NSCN (IM), Mishra was addressed as the “PMO representative”, a title which was earlier held by RN Ravi who resigned as the interlocutor on September 22.
After nearly two years, the peace talks resumed on September 20 in Dimapur following which the insurgent outfit had a detailed meeting with Assam and Nagaland chief ministers.
Officials said that NSCN (IM)’s meeting with two chief ministers was preceded by Himanta Sarma’s deliberations with Home Minister Amit Shah.
During the last meeting, it was agreed upon by both parties that a solution to the Naga political problem needs to be worked out at the earliest, sources said about the agenda of the next meeting.
“Both sides are keen on a solution so that peace and development can be accelerated in Nagaland. It is likely that the peace accord may be worked out before Christmas,” an official said.
The Centre and the NSCN (IM) inked the Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015 while the parallel dialogue commenced with Naga National Political Groups in 2017 with the signing of the agreed position the same year.