Ukhrul, September 6: Expressing serious concerns over the press release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on September 4 stating that the Kuki Zo Council has agreed to open the National Highways in Manipur, the Meitei Heritage Society appealed to the MHA to clarify on the “misleading PR”.
The Meitei Heritage Society, in its statement issued on Saturday, said the the claim is misleading and contradicted by the official statement issued by the Chin Kuki militants, with whom the MHA ironically signed the controversial Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement the same day and was part of the same press release.
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In their joint press release dated September 5, 2025, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) clarified their stance on National Highway-2, stating that the KZC’s appeal was for encouraging cooperation with central security forces to ensure the safe passage of “essential goods” and not an “endorsement of unrestricted movement across buffer zones between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas.” The statement also said the illegal buffer zones stay and is paramount to the militants, the Meitei Heritage Society stated.
“Another armed group calling themselves the Kuki Village Volunteers Eastern Zone has released a video statement rejecting the agreement and threatened against any movement on the highways,” it added.
Highlighting the reasons why the MHA PIB release is deeply concerning, the Meitei Heritage Society pointed out that such misleading press release suggests that the authority to open or close the Nationals Highways in Manipur lies with a private organization and not with Indian State.
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It further stated that the Fundamental Right of Free Movement provided by the Indian Constitution will be dictated by militants and private organizations; not enforced by the Indian State. This is both embarrassing and unacceptable, the Meitei Heritage Society stated.
It also alleged that the misleading “highway opening” narrative was inserted to distract attention from the signing of the SoO agreement, as it bypassed the earlier elected Manipur government’s own decision to scrap the agreement and ignoring evidences submitted by several organizations across community lines establishing the involvement of SoO militants in the ongoing Manipur crisis and their repeated violations of ground rules.
This misleading press release may give a false understanding to the Meitei public that it is safe to travel and risk being killed by the Chin Kuki militant and armed groups.