Govt holds talks with four Kuki militant outfits in Guwahati
Guwahati: The government on Thursday held a meeting with leaders of four Kuki militant outfits from Manipur, with whom it had earlier signed a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement. The meeting took place at the Assam Police's Special Branch headquarters in Kahilipara, Guwahati, according to a senior official.
Details of the discussions were not disclosed, with all parties remaining tight-lipped about the outcome.
This development comes just two days after Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan visited Manipur, accompanied by Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Kumar Deka. During their two-day visit, they assessed the situation in the tribal-dominated districts of Kangpokpi and Churachandpur, as well as Imphal East.
On Monday, Mohan and Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla chaired a high-level meeting to review the ongoing fencing work along the 398-km India-Myanmar border and the state’s law and order situation. Officials from the civil administration, Army, paramilitary forces, and other security agencies participated in the meeting.
A Raj Bhavan official said the review included updates on border fencing, public order, and developmental initiatives. The Home Secretary also visited several relief camps and took stock of the conditions of those displaced by the ongoing violence.
Last month, several MLAs and leaders from the Kuki-Zo communities held a meeting in Guwahati, urging the Centre to resume talks with the Kuki outfits under the SoO pact.
The United Peoples’ Front and the Kuki National Organisation—two umbrella groups of 23 underground outfits—had signed the Suspension of Operation agreement with the Centre on 22 August 2008. Currently, 2,266 Kuki cadres are housed in various designated camps across Manipur. The agreement was signed when the Congress was in power in the state.
Since May 2023, ethnic clashes between the Imphal Valley-based Meitei community and the hill-based Kuki-Zo groups have claimed over 260 lives and displaced thousands.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
