Imphal: The Centre and Manipur state government signed an agreement with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups on Thursday in what is being seen as a major breakthrough ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to the northeastern state ravaged by ethnic violence since May 2023.
The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) agreed to open National Highway-2 (NH-2) for free movement of commuters and essential goods, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Thursday.
The decision was taken after a series of meetings over the past few days between MHA officials and a KZC delegation.
“The meeting concluded with the signing of a tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement on re-negotiated terms and conditions (ground rules) to be effective from the day of signing of the Agreement for a period of one year,” MHA said.
“Kuki-Zo Council has given a commitment to cooperate with security forces deployed by the Government of India to maintain peace along NH-2,” the statement added.
NH-2, a crucial highway which connects Manipur with Nagaland and other parts of the northeast, had been blocked amid tensions over the last two years.
In the tripartite Suspension of Operations agreement, all sides further agreed to maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur and relocate militant camps.
They also agreed on a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to Manipur, reduce the number of designated camps, relocate the weapons with nearest CRPF/BSF camps and stringent physical verification of militant cadres by security forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any.