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Centre to hold direct talks with Nagas |
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New Delhi, Aug 31: After a decade, the Centre has decided to wind up term of K Padmanabhaiah as interlocutor for talks with the Naga group NSCN-IM and will hold direct negotiations with the rebels to find a lasting solution to insurgency in Nagaland.
The term of Padmanabhaiah, a former Union Home Secretary, who has served as interlocutor for talks with NSCN-IM for a decade, has come to an end today.
“We have decided not to extend his tenure. Now onwards, the government of India will talk directly to the NSCN-IM,” a senior Home Ministry official said.
69-year-old Padmanabhaiah described his service as satisfactory and said he has been submitting reports to the government about the progress of the negotiations regularly. “I have completed my tenure and I have not heard anything from the government,” he told PTI.
Padmanabhaiah was first appointed as interlocutor for Naga talks on July 28, 1999, for one year but he had been getting extension for his task for one year every time. He retired as Union Home Secretary on October 31, 1997.
A ceasefire was agreed upon with NSCN-IM since August 1997. In May 1998, the first negotiator Swaraj Kaushal was appointed. He continued till July 1999.
NDTV: In an important development the government said on Monday that it would directly talk to Naga rebels and therefore there will be no talks through interlocutor.
Sources have also told that the government is planning a special package for Nagas to be ready in next two months.
Official interlocutor for Naga talks K Padmanabhiah as a result will not get any extension. Sources have also told that there will be no interlocutor to be appointed by the government any more.
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