The NDA government is out to put down the NSCN(Khaplang) faction. It has now banned the group for 5years. The decision was taken as the outfit was responsible for killing 18 army personnel in Manipur. The National Investigation Agency(NIA) declared a reward of Rs 7 lakhs for information on S.S.Khaplang and Rs 10 lakhs for information on his deputy, Niki Sumi. The NSCN(K) had antagonised the Centre for working out of the ceasefire talks. Another reason the Centre had turned the heat on the NSCN(K) is that it is against the NSCN(IM)’s recently concluded pact with it.
The NIA had previously declared Khaplang a terrorist. The announcement, however, met with lukewarm response in Nagaland. Naga civil society groups had opposed it as did senior leader of the NSCN(IM) who said that the Khaplangs were freedom fighters. It is reported that there were differences of opinion within the government on whether to declare the NSCN(K) an unlawful outfit. Both the NSCN(IM) nad NSCN(K) had been banned in the past and the NSCN(IM) had to hold talks with the Centre in Bangkok, Amsterdam and Osaka. But Isak Swu and T.Muivah later came to Delhi for negotiations . That applied to the NSCN(K) also when it initiated the ceasefire.The interlocutor for Naga peace talks, R. N. Ravi is said to be in favour of renewed talks with the NSCN(K) which may be because the Khaplang group has a pact with the Myanmar government. Delhi is not anxious to ruffle feathers in Yangon.