India News | Naga Peace Talks: Centre's Emissary A K Mishra Meets Naga Groups

Kohima, Feb 20 (PTI) Centre's emissary for Naga peace talks, A K Mishra, on Thursday arrived in Nagaland to hold separate meetings with Naga groups, an official said.

Upon his arrival, Mishra, who is also the Northeast advisor in the Ministry of Home Affairs, engaged in dialogue with the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs).

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In a statement, the media cell of WC NNPGs said that its leaders led by the newly inducted convener M B Neokpao and working conveners P Tikhak Naga and Isak Sumi met the Centre's representatives headed by A K Mishra at Dimapur.

During the meeting, the WC NNPGs leaders apprised them of the recent developments and also the need for an early consolidated and inclusive political solution to the conflict, it said.

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The meeting also deliberated on developing political consensus among Naga political groups and stakeholders so as to expedite resolving the issue in a broad-based manner without excluding any stakeholder, it said.

The ongoing efforts by various Naga civil society organisations to bring unanimity among conflicting Naga political groups has also been reviewed, the statement said.

Further, the closed-door meeting between central representatives and WC NNPGs also stressed the need to maintain consistency and continuity of the process with patience, commitment and clarity until the logical conclusion of the issue.

The Centre's representative is likely to meet NSCN-IM representatives on Friday, sources said.

The Centre and NSCN-IM entered into a ceasefire in 1997, beginning negotiations for a political resolution to the long-standing conflict. After more than 70 rounds of talks, the Centre signed the Framework Agreement with NSCN-IM in 2015.

However, the Centre has not accepted NSCN-IM's persistent demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas, which has led to prolonged negotiations.

The Centre also entered into parallel negotiations with the WC NNPGs, a coalition of seven Naga groups, in 2017, and inked the Agreed Position in the same year.

While the WC NNPGs have expressed willingness to accept whatever is possible and continue negotiations on other contentious demands, the NSCN-IM has declared it will not accept any solution without a separate flag and constitution.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)