AISC decides to hand over PLA cantonments to Nepal Army from today

A meeting of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) has decided to bring all the remaining 15 cantonments of the Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) under the Nepal Army effective from today.

An AISC meeting held in the presence of top leaders of the three major parties Tuesday evening took the decision to this effect. Now the NA troops will take charge of the cantonments immediately.

Meeting of the Army Integration Special Committee held at the...

During the meeting of the three parties and the Madhesi Front earlier today, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had proposed the deployment of the army to the cantonments in view of the obstructions caused by protesting disqualified combatants, who were discharged in 2010.

The teams mobilised by the AISC secretariat will carry out regrouping of the combatants to select some 6500 combatants for integration and place the rest under the voluntary retirement scheme.

Earlier today, the regrouping works at the Shaktikhor cantonment in Chitwan were halted at Dahal's request in view of possible tension and the disqualified combatants continued protest at the main entrance.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who heads the AISC, had then ordered the halt in the regrouping works. There were reports of clash between the combatants at the Dudhauli cantonment in Sindhuli on Monday. nepalnews.com