New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS): A day after the resignation of interlocutor R.N. Ravi, the Centre has resumed the negotiation with the Naga factions to find out a long-standing solution for the Naga issue and former Special Director, IB, A.K. Mishra will be initiating more talks in the days to come.

Mishra was appointed as an Advisor to the Home Ministry after his retirement in April this year and has replaced Ravi. It was learnt that on last Sunday, Mishra, along with Intelligence Bureau chief, Arvind Kumar, met the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah) leader T. Muivah and other leaders of Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) in Dimapur and had an informal round of talks for the peace process soon.

Sources in the security set-up said very soon Mishra will be meeting Muivah and NNPGs leaders again. They also said that it would be a real challenge for the Centre's representative to convince them on the issue of a separate Constitution and flag.

They also said that Assam Chief Minister and convener of BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma has also been brought into the peace process by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and he will also be meeting Muivah along with his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio.

Sarma is also expected to meet the leaders of other stakeholders of the peace process and NNPGs.

Mishra, a retired IPS officer of 1987 batch of Rajasthan cadre, has said to have played a significant role in signing a peace accord with militant groups based in Assam's Karbi-Anglong district and ceasefire agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Niki group, another security source said.

The huge trust deficit between Ravi and the Naga groups created hurdles in the peace process in early 2020 when Muivah refused to hold any dialogue with him following a dispute on the framework agreement signed in 2015. An IPS 1976 batch officer of Kerala cadre, Ravi was Special Director in Intelligence Bureau in 2012 and after his retirement, he was appointed as government interlocutor on the Naga peace talk in 2014 and in 2015, he signed a framework agreement with the NSCN-IM on behalf of the Centre on August 3, 2015, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In 2019, he was made the Nagaland Governor along with his interlocutor's responsibility despite protests from Muivah.