NEW DELHI, November 7: The Centre's peace efforts in Nagaland seem to have received a boost with the reluctant Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) indicating that it might agree to the cease-fire in the State and begin a political dialogue with the Government.Home Ministry sources said the NSCN (Khaplang) had indicated its willingness to join the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) in the cease-fire with the security forces if certain conditions put forward by it were met.While a formal cease-fire between the security forces and the NSCN (I-M) has been on since August 1, the Centre has found it difficult to draw the Khaplang faction into the process.On November 1, the Centre extended the cease-fire for a further three-month period, asking all militant groups to respond. The NSCN (I-M) reacted with a formal statement, accepting the cease-fire though it had some reservations over the ground rules announced by the Centre.Though there has been no formal response yet from the Khaplang faction, Ministry sources maintain that it has indicated its willingness to join peace process. The Khaplang group reportedly wants the cease-fire to be followed up by a political dialogue. It also wants the Army shut out from its dealings with the Centre.If the Khaplang faction formally joins the cease-fire, there might be a significant change in the ground situation in Nagaland. Although there were no major encounters between any insurgent group and the security forces during the first three-month phase of the cease-fire, clashes between the militant factions actually increased. With both major NSCN groups agreeing to a cease-fire, there is a chance that encounters between them would also stop.Indrajit Gupta had made clear that the security forces will intervene if there were inter-group clashes.
