ULFA to be disbanded, Amit Shah announces signing 'historic peace deal' with insurgent group, Assam govt

The ULFA (Independent) faction led by Paresh Baruah remains opposed to talks.

The peace deal with the oldest insurgent group of Assam attempts to address issues such as illegal immigration, land rights for indigenous communities, and a financial package for Assam's development.

Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters in Delhi that the Centre will ensure to look into all the reasonable demands by ULFA and will try to meet those in a time-bound manner.

He announced that ULFA as an organisation would stand disbanded.

"We want to assure the ULFA leadership that their trust in the Centre to ensure the success of the peace process will be honoured," Shah said, and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing peace and stability to the northeast.

Shah said the removal of the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA) from many areas of Assam and other northeast states is a testament that insurgency is nearly extinct in the region.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who sat beside Shah, said the peace deal with ULFA will solve the problem of insurgency in the region to a large extent.

Founded on April 7, 1979, in Sivasagar, Assam, ULFA emerged to establish an independent sovereign state for the indigenous Assamese people. The group began its armed operations in the late 1980s, led by figures such as Paresh Baruah, Arabinda Rajkhowa, and Anup Chetia.