The govt and the main opposition Maoists on Tuesday agreed on a last-minute pact vowing to complete the stalled peace process in the next four months, paving the way for a final extension of the UN Mission in Nepal that was set to expire on Wednesday.
The caretaker government led by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and the UCPN-M inked a four-point agreement that pledges to complete the three-year-old peace process by 14th January.
The government and the UCPN-Maoist today sent a consensus request to the United Nations to renew the term of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for the “last time” for four months, with continuity for the existing mandate, after the Prime Minister and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ agreed on the four-point agreement yesterday.
“We have agreed primarily to complete the remaining tasks of the peace process between September 17 and January 14 2011,” Maoist Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha was quoted as saying by the myrepublica online, the website of Republica newspaper today.
The world body was established the UNMIN as a special political mission in 2007 with a mandate to manage the arms and armed personnel of the Maoists and the Nepal Army.
Its term has so far been renewed six times.
The tenure of UNMIN is set to end on 15th September even as the country has been in political limbo since the 30th June resignation of Nepal.
The rehabilitation and integration of 19,602 Maoist combatants with the army, currently living in 28 UN-supervised camps, is at the heart of the stalled peace process.
Political differences between the major parties and the opposition Maoists had delayed the management of ex-Maoist army personnel which should have been completed much earlier.
The UCPN-Maoist has agreed to let its army come under the command and control of a Special Committee as soon as possible besides sharing all details about its combatants with the committee headed by the prime minister, according to Rajan Bhattarai, the prime ministers Foreign Affairs Advisor.
As per the agreement, the Maoists are to sign three key documents related to the integration and rehabilitation of their combatants.
These include a code of conduct for Maoist combatants, a plan of action for management of former Maoist army personnel and directives related to the monitoring mechanism, the report said.