Imphal, August 26: The Congress has urged the Centre to work to integrate all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas with Nagaland and to solve the State's boundary dispute with Assam - two unimplimented clauses in a 16-point agreement that led to the State's formation in 1963. The annual general session of the Nagaland unit of the Congress, held here yesterday, adopted a resolution to this efect.

The session was attended by State leaders and central observer Ranji Thomas.

Bringing contiguous Naga-inhabited areas under one administrative set-up is a major demand made by the NSCN-IM during its peace talks with the Centre over the past 10 years.

State party president Hokheto Sumi told reporters after the session that no National parties, except the Congress, were involved in the Naga political issue since the beginning of the Naga uprising, and the party had been demanding the implementation of the two clauses of the 16-point pact of 1960. However, he said, it was not a new demand of the Congress because when the party was in power, the Nagaland Assembly had passed resolutions three times in this regard.

The Congress said the Naga political issue and development strategies in the State would be the party's main plank in the Assembly polls slated for early next year.

CLP leader I Imkong said the Congress wanted to be a bridge between the Centre and Naga underground groups so that lasting peace became a reality in the State through political negotiations on the vexed Naga problem.

Before every election, all parties, including the Congress, earlier promised to play the role of a facilitator, but after coming to power the tasks were vested to NGOs and churches, he said.

"But this time, we want to change this policy by shouldering the responsibility of becoming the real facilitator," Imkong said.

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