First SoO talks held with new Govt
Source: The Sangai Express

New Delhi, May 02 2026: Amid fresh unrest in Manipur, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Manipur Government on Friday (May 1, 2026) resumed talks with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups who are in a Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the Govt.The dialogue, which resumed after a gap of two months, is significant as it was also attended by Manipur Government officials - the first such meeting after an elected Government under Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh was restored in Manipur on February 4 .

The Biren Singh government had refused to extend the SoO pact when it came up for an annual renewal on February 9, 2024 .

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

The pact was signed with "re-negotiated terms and conditions or ground rules" on September 4, 2025 when the State was under President's Rule, days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit on September 13 since ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei people erupted in the State on May 3, 2023 .

The tripartite pact was first signed in 2008 by the United Peoples' Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), an umbrella of 24 insurgent groups.

The meeting held in Delhi was led by Ajit Lal, Adviser, North East, MHA and attended by Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials, Manipur Home Secretary N Ashok Kumar and Additional Director General of Police Ashutosh Kumar Sinha.

A joint statement by the KNO and the UPF said that the day-long discussions focused on operational and security-related issues and "both sides broadly agreed on the need to relocate certain SoO camps to reduce friction with local populations and improve security issues" .

The Government has asked the SoO groups to relocate seven of the 14 camps.

Kuki-Zo groups said they have decided to consolidate their camps to 12 .

Kuki-Zo groups said they drew the attention of MHA officials to the unrest in Ukhrul district, claiming that the Kuki people continue to live under constant fear of attacks, allegedly by Tangkhul armed groups.

They further claimed that numerous villages belonging to Kuki-Zo civilians have been burnt over the past month, underscoring the urgency of security intervention and confidence-building measures.

Since February 7, a fresh conflict has erupted in the Naga-dominated Ukhrul district between the Tangkhul Nagas and the Kukis.

At the meeting, the Kuki-Zo groups reiterated their demand for a Union Territory with a legislature for the hill areas, adding that a return to status quo was untenable.

They said that three years on, there was a total non-accountability of the State Government to apprehend those responsible for the unprecedented violent attacks against Kuki-Zo MLAs, Government officers, civilians in localities in the heart of Imphal and across the valley district boundaries, namely Bishnupur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Kaching, and Jiribam.

At least 11 people have been killed since April 7 .

The deaths and killings have been reported from Bishnupur district, a Meitei-dominated area and Ukhrul, where a fresh conflict between the Tangkhul Nagas and the Kukis has emerged.