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In its effort to bring lasting peace in Assam, the government on Saturday signed an agreement with the banned ULFA to end violence in the troubled North-eastern State and set the ball rolling for peace talks.

The Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact, signed by the representatives of Central and Assam governments and ULFA, will ensure that the outfit will not carry out any subversive activities till a solution for the vexed insurgency problem is arrived at, while the security forces will not take any action against the ULFA cadres.

“We had a very good round of talks. The SoO agreement was signed. The first round spells out the road to political dialogue. It is the harbinger of future talks,” Joint Secretary (Northeast) in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shambhu Singh told reporters in New Delhi. The SoO pact will continue during the political talks and till a final agreement is signed.

The meeting deliberated in detail various aspects of the ground rules of the SoO and how to maintain peace in Assam.

Members of the rebel group — numbering around 600 — will be put in special camps which will be called ‘nabanirman kendras’.

Asked whether ULFA cadres will surrender all arms and ammunition, the outfit’s foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury shot back saying, “Why should we? This is not a final agreement.” “This is a gentleman’s agreement. We will see how the parleys go forward,” Mr. Choudhury said.

Last month, ULFA had submitted to the Centre its ‘charter of demands’ which sought amendment in the Constitution for finding “meaningful” ways to protect the rights and identity of the indigenous people of Assam. The group also demanded change of laws, saying a solution to their demands was not possible under the provisions of the existing Constitution.

The other demands of the ULFA include discussion on grounds for “ULFA’s struggle and their genuineness”, status report on missing ULFA cadres, including those missing since 2005 when the Bhutan government conducted an offensive against the outfit, and other socio-economic issues.

The SoO agreement on Saturday was signed by those including Joint Secretary Shambhu Singh, Assam Home Commissioner Jishnu Baruah, ULFA’s Choudhury, finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika, and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah.

This was ULFA’s first formal peace talks with the government in its 32-year-old history. So far, only preliminary talks between the ULFA and Centre’s interlocutor P.C. Haldar have been held in Guwahati. ULFA’s elusive ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah is still opposed to any dialogue with the government.