Tripartite deal on arms management to be signed today

The government, the Maoists and the United Nations are set to ink a tripartite deal on management of arms and armies Sunday evening.

Maoist leaders engaged in negotiations with the government and the UN representatives at a hotel in Lalitpur told reporters that the draft of agreement on management of arms and armies of the Maoist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Nepal Army has been finalised and that it would be signed amidst media gathering at around 6:00 pm today.

The tripartite meeting has been discussing the modalities of the management of arms and armies since Friday.

Today’s meeting was mainly focused on the number of PLA men who would be allowed to carry arms for the security of their camps.

Maoist leader Suresh Ale Magar and PLA deputy commanders Nanda Kishor Pun ‘Pasang’, Barsha Man Pun ‘Ananta’, Baldev and Prabhakar represented the Maoist side while John Norris and Jan Eric Wilhemson represented the UN. Ministers Pradeep Gyawali and Ramesh Lekhak, Nepali Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala, Brigadier General of Nepal Army Shiv Ram Pradhan and Nepal Police AIG Amar Singh Shah were also represent at the meeting held at Summit Hotel. nepalnews.com mk Nov 26 06