Kuki-Zo Insurgent Groups That Signed Agreement with Government Accuse PIB of Spinning Information
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Kuki-Zo insurgent groups who signed suspension of operations (SoO) pact with the Manipur government and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on September 2, have said that the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the government’s official information arm, has spun information of the official agreement which they had signed. This they have said, as per The Hindu, has “caused confusion among the people.”
The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United Peoples Front (UPF) have issued a statement on Sunday (September 7) saying that PIB’s misinterpretation has seriously upset Kuki Zo sentiment. The newspaper writes that the mood over Prime Minister Modi’s proposed visit to Churachandpur on September 13 has been negatively affected by this spin.
“The recently concluded MHA and SoO extension agreement for one year, effective from the date signed September 4, 2025, at New Delhi, clearly states, ‘SoO Agreement shall be followed by a tripartite dialogue with KNO and UPF to pave the way for a negotiated political settlement under the Constitution of India in a time-bound manner.’ The PIB has put a spin on the signed official agreement as follows: “Among other provisions, the revised ground rules reiterated: Need for a negotiated solution to bring peace and stability to the State of Manipur.”
This twist by PIB does not figure anywhere in the SoO agreement signed between the MHA and the SoO group, the statement from the groups said.
The statement has also said that before May 3, 2023, when violence erupted in the State and continues to cast its shadow on the ground, the SoO group’s demand was only local autonomy via the Territorial Council within the State of Manipur. But after the violence, they have said that their demand has changed to rooting for a union territory with legislature.
This they say had been made formally at the SoO meeting held earlier two years ago, on September 1, 2023.
The statement says that following the renewed SoO agreement, future talks between the SoO group and the government’s representatives will focus on the demand for union territory (UT) with legislature for the Kuki-Zo areas in Manipur.
The Meitei community had demanded the end of the Suspension of Operations agreement, accusing Kuki-Zo groups of violating ceasefire ground rules during the ethnic violence in Manipur.
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