Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda' and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum chairman Upendra Yadav arrived at an understanding on Wednesday morning, expanding the ruling coalition and paving way for the MJF to join the government.
The government has expressed its commitment to implement past agreements signed with Madhesi parties, address issues of inclusion and citizenship for Madhesi citizens, resolve the issue of an autonomous Madhes province through the Constituent Assembly and complete the peace and constitution writing process by the stipulated deadline of May 28, 2011. Mr. Yadav, who was the Foreign Minister during the nine-month Prachanda led government in 2008-09, is expected to assume the post again.
In a separate development, the Special Committee for the Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants decided to provide the secretariat, responsible for the monitoring of cantonment sites and combatants, with the required human resources. “We have also agreed to set up a four-member taskforce to come up with a political agreement on the numbers, norms, and modalities for integration of former fighters, rehabilitation packages, and timeline to complete the peace process,” said Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, Barshaman Pun ‘Ananta'.
