New Delhi, Aug. 3 (PTI): Former BSF director-general D.K. Pathak was today appointed the new chairman of the ceasefire monitoring group (CMG), created in 2001 to formalise a permanent peace accord with Naga rebels.

Pathak, a 1979-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, retired in February this year and will now operate from Nagaland's capital Kohima.

An order issued by the Union home ministry said the appointment will be for a year, from the date Pathak takes charge, adding that he will "monitor the implementation of the agreed ground rules during the operation of ceasefire with the NSCN (I-M), NSCN (K-K) and NSCN (R) in Nagaland."

The post was being held by Lt Gen. (retd) N.K. Singh and his tenure ended on June 30. This is the first time a police officer has been appointed to the post as all past chairmen have been army officers.

The main task of the CMG chairman is to help in creation of a conducive atmosphere by talking to the stakeholders on the ground that could pave way for a successful political negotiation and bring an end to the decades-old insurgency problem in the border state.

Sources said Pathak was chosen for the job given his experience of not only being the chief of the border force that tackles insurgency in the region as part of its mandate to guard the Indo-Bangla border, besides his knowledge of the Northeast during his early service years as an IPS officer when insurgency was at its peak. Pathak will report to the home ministry and will coordinate with the army, paramilitary set-up operating in Nagaland, along with state government authorities, including police.

In a similar development, the Centre today said in Parliament that Naga peace talks are "in progress".