Amid speculation of PM's visit to Manipur, Centre brokers pact with Kuki, Meitei groups; key highway to reopen

In a significant decision, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on Thursday decided to open National Highway-2 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods.

The decision came after a series of meetings between officials of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and a delegation of KZC in the last few days at New Delhi, including the current one, which began on September 3.

The meetings had been taking place since June this year, when the Centre had revived talks with the Kuki and Meitei groups as part of restoring peace in the troubled state.

The breakthrough is significant as it has come amid speculation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's prospective visit to Manipur later this month.

If Modi does visit the state, it will be his first ever since violence broke out there.

The highway had remained blocked for more than two years when ethnic violence had broken out in Manipur in May 2023, and is a major lifeline for the state as it passes through the state to the neighbouring state of Nagaland, carrying critical supply of food and ration.

KZC has given commitment to cooperate with security forces deployed by the Centre to maintain peace along NH-2, which crosses through Kuki-dominated areas of Manipur.

Meanwhile, a tripartite meeting among representatives of MHA, Manipur government and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) also took place on Thursday in New Delhi.

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.

The agreement had been in limbo since February 29, 2024.

Among other provisions, the revised ground rules reiterated the territorial integrity of Manipur.

It underlined the need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to Manipur.

Further to this, KNO and UPF have also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict, reduce the number of designated camps, relocate the weapons with nearest CRPF/BSF camps, allow stringent physical verification of cadres by security forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any.

The pact also decided that a joint monitoring group will henceforth closely monitor enforcement of ground rules, and violations will be dealt with firmly in future, including review of the SoO Agreement.