The Army Integration Special Committee, which met on Tuesday after a gap of several weeks, has started deliberation on the proposal tabled by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, which aims to finish all works related to the Maoist combatants, including their integration, by April 30 this year.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and other senior leaders...

"The Special Committee has started debate on the Prime Minister's proposal," UML general secretary Ishwor Pokharel, a member of the committee, informed after the meeting held at the PMO in Singha Durbar. According to him, the committee will discuss the proposal at length before arriving at a conclusion.

The Prime Minister heads the 8-member Special Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants living in cantonments.

Likewise, Maoist leader and Special Committee member Janardan Sharma said his party would study the proposal and then clarify its position.

"We have received the copy of the proposal. We will have to study it before we can say anything," he said.

At the meeting the Maoist representatives also asked Prime Minister Nepal to clarify the government's position on the Indian Army Chief Deepak Kapoor's remarks that the Maoist combatants should not be integrated in Nepal Army en masse.

In response, Prime Minister Nepal is learnt to have asked the Maoist leaders not to go after the "personal views of an individual". nepalnews.com