India suspends military drive against Ulfa

"We have decided to stop operations against Ulfa for a few days," said Home Secretary VK Duggal. But he quickly added that "this does not mean that forces won't respond to Ulfa's violence. Appropriate actions will be taken if they indulge in violence", he said.

The Ulfa is engaged in peace talks through intermediarieswho are called People's Consultative Groupcomprising writers, lawyers and professionals from Assam.

The PCG was constituted by Ulfa in October last year to initiate exploratory talks with the Indian government.

Eminent Assamese writer Indira Goswami, who has been a mediator between Ulfa and the Indian government, welcomed the decision to suspend operations against Ulfa.

"We welcome this move. It's a good beginning and we hope this suspension of operations would be extended till such a time when the Ulfa leadership and the government would hold direct peace talks," she said.

The PCG and the government has so far held three rounds of talks aimed at paving the way for direct dialogue between Ulfa and the government. The first round was chaired by prime minister in Delhi on October 26.

The suspension of military operations against Ulfa meets a key demand of the insurgent group, which also wants release of five of its top leaders from Indian jail to facilitate peace talks.

The government indicated that Ulfa's demand for release of its five key leaders would be considered if the group signals its willingness for dialogue.

The government had recently warned Ulfa in the wake of some attacks on Indian security personnel in Assam allegedly by the militant group in the run up to the Indian Independence Day.