Guwahati: Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reached an agreement with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups to extend the Suspension of Operations (SoO) deal, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s potential visit to conflict-hit Manipur.
The MHA has also successfully persuaded tribal civil society groups to reopen highways that the groups had blocked for Meitei people for over two years following the ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023.
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The government confirmed that officials from the MHA held a series of discussions with a Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) delegation in recent days to finalise the agreement.
Kuki National Organisation (KNO) spokesperson Seilen Haokip confirmed that the MHA representatives and the KNO finalised the deal.
For the past two years, the MHA has continuously negotiated with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups to renegotiate the terms of the SoO agreement.
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The Centre, the Manipur government, and the Kuki-Zo groups signed the updated tripartite deal, which ensures that Manipur’s territorial integrity remains intact.
As part of the deal, the agreement relocates seven militant camps from conflict-prone areas, and the groups have committed to working toward lasting peace in the state.
The Kuki-Zo Council has agreed to reopen National Highway-2 to allow free movement of people and goods, pledging to cooperate with Indian security forces stationed along the highway.
While the Kuki-Zo Council, an umbrella group of Kuki-Zo factions, has not yet issued an official statement, the agreement marks a critical step in reducing tensions.
Since the May 2023 violence, the ethnic divide in Manipur has left Meitei people in the valley and Kuki-Zo communities in the hills.
The Centre initially signed the SoO agreement in 2008 and renewed it annually until February 2024, when the MHA suspended it due to allegations that some insurgent groups were involved in the ethnic conflict.
The groups have denied the charges. Former Chief Minister Biren Singh and his supporters have demanded the cancellation of the agreement, while Kuki-Zo groups have urged the Centre to renew it.
Under the original terms of the SoO pact, militants had to stay in designated camps with strict movement controls, and they stored weapons in a double-lock system, overseen by both the groups and the security forces.