Guwahati: Peace talks with the ULFA could
be held right away even without a formal letter from the
proscribed insurgent outfit, Union Home Secretary G K
Pillai said on Tuesday.
"Talks with the jailed ULFA leaders can be held
immediately and the Centre is neither waiting for any letter
nor insisting on it," Pillai told reporters after attending
the North East Council meet here.
Asked about ULFA General Secretary Anup Chetia who is
currently in a Dhaka jail, Pillai said he was likely to be
handed over to India shortly.
On the whereabouts of elusive ULFA
`Commander-in-Chief` Paresh Barua, he said, Barua was probably
somewhere in the Kachin-Myanmar border area.
Pillai was hopeful that Barua would attend the
peace talks, but said the parleys could begin without him.
"We are hopeful of discussions once there is a
consensus on how we should go ahead with the talks," Pillai
said.
A strategy for the discussions was being formulated
with the Central and state governments for talks with the
ULFA, Pillai said.
A strategy was also being worked out for dealing with
the ULFA, especially after the recent success against them, at
a meeting with the Assam chief secretary and DGP in New Delhi
last week.
The recommendations of the meeting will be sent to
Union Home minister P Chidambaram and then discussed with the
Chief Minister of Assam.
Stating that insurgent outfits from the NE region
continued to operate from Bangladesh, Pillai said, there was
positive response from the neighbouring government for halting
terror activities against India from its soil.
Pillai said he had visited Myanmar recently and had
fruitful discussions with leaders there for coordinated
action in border areas against insurgents.
PTI
