IMPHAL: Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi appealed to the insurgent groups on Monday to come for talks to resolve their differences.

He was speaking at the Congress political conference at Saikul in Imphal East district. He said violence had not solved any problems.

He cited the case of Mizoram which had once been a hotbed of insurgency. But insurgents had realised the limits of violence and had laid down arms. The state was now an island of peace in the turbulent northeast region, and got Rs. 50 crore from the Centre annually for development projects.

Manipur, on the other hand, had spent a fortune in combating insurgency. Mr. Ibobi said many underground organisations that had proliferated recently were extortionists who kidnapped affluent persons for ransom.

He appealed to the All Tribal Students' Union of Manipur (ATSUM) to call off the blockade on both the national highways.

Report wanted

The Union Home Ministry had asked for a detailed report on the arrest of two leaders of the proscribed People's United Liberation Front (PULF), a Muslim militant group, on November 10 at the Imphal airport.

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