India asks militant group to lay down arms

INDIA: Indian government Tuesday asked a militant group in the northeastern state of Assam to lay down arms by the middle of this month and then peace talks could be held with the rebel group, reported the Press Trust of India on Tuesday.

The government issued the ultimatum to the Dima Halam Daogah ( DHD) militant group at a high-level meeting attended among others by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan, Army Chief Deepak Kapoor and Immigration Bureau Director Rajiv Mathur in New Delhi, said the report.

The report said the government also asked DHD rebels to "stay in their designated camps, stop extortion of money and come for talks with their top leaders".

Xinhua