The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the Narendra Modi government on Thursday (September 5) extended the ceasefire agreement with the Niki Sumi-led National Socialist Council of Nagaland militant group for one more year. The breakaway NSCN group is led by Niki Sumi, against whom the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh.

The ministry said, 'The ceasefire agreement is in force between the government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (K) Niki group and it has been decided to extend the agreement for a period of one year from September 8, 2024 to September 7, 2025. The ceasefire agreement was first signed on September 6, 2021.

The Home Ministry had then said in a statement, 'To fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of an 'insurgency-free and prosperous North East' and to give a significant boost to the Naga peace process, the Government of India, under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has entered into a ceasefire agreement with the National.' A PTI report said that the Centre had signed a framework agreement with the major Naga group NSCN-IM on August 3, 2015 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find a permanent solution.

The ceasefire agreement came into being after more than 80 rounds of talks that lasted 18 years. The first breakthrough came in 1997 when a ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland, which began soon after India's independence in 1947. Talks with the NSCN-IM are currently going nowhere as the group is pushing for a separate Naga flag and constitution, which has been rejected by the central government. After entering into a ceasefire agreement, the Centre is also holding peace talks with splinter groups of the NSCN.