Former BSF DG to head Naga ceasefire monitoring group

Former Director General of BSF D.K. Pathak has been appointed as the new chairman of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group (CMG) that was created in 2001 to formalise a permanent peace accord with Naga groups.

This is the first time that a police officer has been appointed to the post, which has in the past been held by Army officials. The post was held by Lt. Gen. (retd) N.K. Singh and his tenure came to an end on June 30.

Mr. Pathak, a 1979-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, retired as the BSF Director General in February this year. He will operate from Nagaland’s capital Kohima.

An order issued by the Union Home Ministry said the appointment will be for a year from the date Mr. Pathak takes charge. He will “monitor the implementation of the agreed ground rules during the operation of ceasefire with the NSCN (Issac-Muivah), the NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) and the NSCN (Reformation) in Nagaland,” it said.

The main task of the CMG chairman is to help in the creation of an atmosphere conducive for a political negotiation to end the decades-old insurgency problem in the border State. Mr. Pathak will report to the Home Ministry and will coordinate with the Army, the paramilitary setup operating in Nagaland, the State government authorities and the police.

Talks in progress

The government said in Parliament on Wednesday that the Naga peace talks are “in progress.”

“Subsequent to the framework signed on August 3, 2015, details are being worked out. Consultations with all the stakeholders and the State governments involved will be held before reaching the final agreement,” Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

In a separate reply, the Minister responded with a “yes” when he was asked whether National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) is acting at the behest of neighbouring countries. “There are inputs to suggest that NSCN-K has established camps across the border in a neighbouring country. The government has taken measures to eliminate security threats from insurgent groups having camps outside the country,” he said.