Iranian Embassy - London: News: Nepal PM, Rebel Chief hold second round of peace talks

Nepal-PM-Rebel Chief
Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist chief Prachanda on Tuesday held the second round of talks on the thorny issue of ending the decade-long insurgency in the Himalayan nation and both sides voiced confidence that the parleys will end with concrete agreements.

The two leaders and other senior members of the Seven-Party Alliance, who had earlier met on Sunday, held talks at the Premier’s residence at Baluwatar here.

The parleys focused on deciding the date and procedure of the constituent assembly election, finalizing the interim constitution, arms management and position of the king, said Rajendra Mahato, general secretary of Nepal Sadbhavana Party, who is also attending the meeting.

The two sides began talks on Sunday after a break of four months.

The meeting between prime minister and Maoists aimed at pursuing rebels to lay down arms and bringing them to mainstream had failed to produce any ’concrete results’ on Sunday but they had agreed to continue the parleys on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Nepali Congress Shushil Koirala told reporters that his party is making efforts to forge collective consensus on the the proposed agenda and would not create any hitch in the process.

General Secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal said the peace talks will now move towards consensus and assured that his party will make best efforts to make that happen.

CPN-UML’s Bharat Mohan Adhikari struck a positive note about the outcome of the talks and informed he was assured by the prime minister that the date of the constituent assembly polls would be announced today.