Guwahati, May 29 -- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday clarified that its recently introduced arms licence policy will not be applicable to the inter-state border areas shared with neighboring states like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

The Chief Minister made the clarification following queries about the approved policy to issue arms licenses to "original inhabitants and indigenous communities" living in vulnerable and border regions of the state.

Notably, Assam has a history of bloody border disputes with these four northeastern states-Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland-which have tragically claimed over 200 lives across more than five decades.

The Chief Minister, on his officia...