Kuki Inpi Manipur rejects call to abrogate SoO pact With KNO, UPF

The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) has categorically rejected a recent demand by a group of Meitei and Naga civil society organisations seeking the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement between the Government of India and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF).

In a press release issued on September 10, 2026, KIM said the demand was based on what it described as a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of the SoO arrangement and the political process it was intended to facilitate.

According to KIM, the SoO agreement is a peace initiative of the Government of India entered into with Kuki armed organisations to suspend hostilities and create an environment conducive to political dialogue. The organisation said the arrangement, formalised as a tripartite agreement in 2008, has subsequently been extended by successive governments. It argued that this demonstrates the Centre’s continued recognition of the framework as a mechanism for engaging with the Kuki political question.

KIM questioned the demand to dismantle the SoO mechanism while simultaneously seeking peace, arguing that the agreement provides the structure through which the Government of India has maintained political engagement with Kuki representatives.

The organisation also rejected the argument that the SoO agreement should be scrapped because certain individuals associated with SoO groups have allegedly committed crimes. It said that even in cases of genuine violations of the agreement’s ground rules, such matters should be placed before the Joint Monitoring Group, which is responsible for dealing with such issues under the terms of the agreement.

KIM further maintained that the political aspirations of the Kuki-Zo people cannot be determined by another ethnic community. At the same time, it acknowledged that Meitei civil society organisations have the right, as citizens, to express their views and make representations to the government.

However, the Kuki apex body argued that expressing such demands does not give another community the authority to determine the political future of the Kuki-Zo people.

In a concluding statement, KIM said the Kuki political question is fundamentally a matter involving the Government of India, the Government of Manipur and the SoO groups, and should be addressed through dialogue and a constitutional political process.

The organisation called on the Centre to reject attempts to terminate the SoO agreement solely on the basis of demands from sections of another ethnic community, while simultaneously urging strict enforcement of the SoO ground rules and prosecution of individuals against whom credible evidence of violations exists.

KIM also called for strengthening the Joint Monitoring Group and other institutional mechanisms to ensure compliance, stating that the SoO framework should continue until a mutually acceptable and durable political settlement is reached.