New Delhi: The Centre and the Niki Sumi faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland have extended their ceasefire by another year, continuing an arrangement that began in 2021. The renewed truce takes effect on Tuesday, and runs until September 7, 2027, subject to both sides observing the agreed ceasefire rules.
The extension was signed in New Delhi on Monday, following a meeting to review and renew the agreement. It reiterates the two sides’ stated objective of securing lasting peace in Nagaland with the participation of the Naga people. As RNA Media reported earlier, the Naga peace recently got a renewed ministerial push.
The faction, commonly known as NSCN-K (Niki), was represented by its ceasefire supervisory board’s supervisor, Abel Zingru Thuer, and secretary, Ameka Achumi. The Union home ministry’s joint secretary, Niraj Kumar Bansod, signed on behalf of the government, according to media reports.
Compliance with the mutually agreed ground rules remains a condition of the truce. The agreement also allows those rules to be reviewed and amended jointly, giving both parties a mechanism to address issues concerning its implementation.
The faction’s ceasefire with the Centre first took effect on September 8, 2021. At the time, the home ministry said more than 200 members of the group, along with 83 weapons, had joined the peace process – figures relating to its entry into the arrangement, rather than the latest renewal.
The arrangement forms part of the Centre’s engagement with several Naga armed groups through separate agreements. When announcing the Niki faction’s entry in 2021, the ministry noted that it already had ceasefire agreements with NSCN-NK, NSCN-R and NSCN-K (Khango), alongside a framework agreement with NSCN-IM.
The latest renewal therefore continues the framework for maintaining the truce and managing its implementation for another year. Its reported provisions concern the duration and conditions of the ceasefire; they do not announce a comprehensive political settlement of the Naga issue.