Sonia Gandhi expresses condolence over death of Naga leader Isak Chisi Swu

In her condolence message, Gandhi said she hoped that Swu’s legacy would evolve into that of lasting peace and reconciliation.

It may be recalled that the government had in August last year signed an accord with the NSCN-IM, which Modi described as a “historic” step to usher in peace in Nagaland, and now with Swu’s death, the future of the accord may come up for discussion and deliberation again.

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The pact was signed in the presence of the Prime Minister, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval by the outfit’s leader T Muivah and government’s interlocutor RN Ravi at the PM’s residence.

The signing of the pact came after over 80 rounds of negotiations that spanned 16 years with first breakthrough in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed.

While National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac-Muivah) is the biggest Naga rebel group which has been maintaining the ceasefire, another faction led by SS Khaplang continues to indulge in violence and was believed to be behind the deadly attack on army in Manipur in June 2015 that left 18 soldiers dead and 18 injured.