<p>In a significant development, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has signed a tripartite peace pact with the Union and Assam governments, marking an end to decades-long insurgency in the state.</p>
<p>The agreement, inked in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, aims to address various political, economic, and social challenges in Assam.</p>
<p>Amit Shah has assured the ULFA representatives that the government would implement the agreement in a time-bound manner and that a committee, working with the Assam government, will oversee the fulfilment of the agreement.</p>
<p>As part of the accord, a substantial development package will be provided to Assam.</p>
<p>The peace pact will also secure cultural safeguards and land rights for the indigenous people of the state.</p>
<p>Assam has seen prolonged suffering due to militancy and ULFA violence, which claimed 10,000 lives since 1979.</p>
<p>However, the ULFA’s hardline wing, led by Paresh Baruah, did not participate in the accord, as Baruah has consistently rejected government overtures.</p>
<p>This development comes after the ULFA faction, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, initiated unconditional discussions with the central government in 2011.</p>
<p>The ULFA, founded in 1979, had advocated for a "sovereign Assam" and has been involved in subversive activities, leading to its prohibition by the central government in 1990.</p>
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