BIG THREE SUMMIT MONDAY

SUMMIT OF THE BIG THREE MONDAY

Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: A meeting of the Big Three meets Monday afternoon to discuss integration of Maoist former combatants and other issues.
The summit of UCPN (Maoist), an opposition NC and UML is being held after the return home of Maoist Chairman Prachanda and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai from foreign tours.
The tripartite meeting is being held as the 30 November deadline to complete the peace process and constitution drafting approaches.
Relationship between the party lading the government and the opposition have soured after the Bhattarai government recommended to
ceremonial President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav to pardon a Maoist lawmaker convicted y the supreme court for murder with the confiscation of property.
Bhattarai has refused to roll back the government decision demanded by the opposition parties.
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NBL CAPITAL TO BE RAISED TO RS. 4 BILLION

Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: The paid-up capital of troubled Nepal Bank Ltd. (NBL) will be raised to Rs.4 billion from Rs.380 billion, Nagarik reports.
The board of Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRRB) has given its agreement in principle to raise the capital, the newspaper reports.
The country’s first bank will mark its 75th anniversary this week.; the bank was
launched by government during the Rana regime.
Details are yet to be worked out.
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INDIAN PM HAILS 7-POINT DEAL


kathmandu, 14 Nov.: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the recent seven-point agreement signed among the major political forces in Nepal is a 'very helpful development, The Kathmandu Post from New Delhi.
PM Singh was addressing the media on the entire gamut of regional and bilateral issues, including Nepal, in an onboard interaction on Saturday during his return from the Maldives after attending the 17th Saarc Summit and subsequent bilateral meetings.
Referring to the meeting with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai in the Maldives as a' very good one', Singh said, "We reviewed the progress made with regard to peacekeeping and peace initiative, and on that the Prime Minister (Bhattarai) was true to his word."
"He had told me that he would work hard to see the peace process moving forward within this month," Singh added.
The Indian PM also informed that both countries can now move ahead to sign the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement as it has now been cleared by Nepal's Cabinet. According to reports in the Indian media, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to go to Kathmandu this weak for signing the deal but the officials close to him said the date has not been fixed yet.
"The date has not been fixed yet. He is now busy at his constituency in West Bengal," one of his close aides told the Post.
On Saarc, PM Singh said at this point, he felt the regional organisation is getting on to the process of learning to cooperate among the member nations.
"I have often said the Saarc process is an essay in persuasion because of the fact that we cannot change our neighbours. We can change our friends, we cannot change our neighbours," he said.
"We have to learn to live together in peace and amity. We have to learn to cooperate with each other. And I do feel that at long last the Saarc is getting on to that process, even though I still believe that there is a long arduous journey ahead of us," he added.

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REHAB PACKAGE
ISSUES DELAY REGROUPING
Kathmandu, 14 Nov.: Dillydallying by the prime minister-led Special Committee in endorsing the rehabilitation package to be offered to former Maoist combatants has delayed the regrouping process that was supposed to begin on Wednesday, The Kathmandu Post reports.
The departure of the 210-member survey team has been put on hold till Tuesday morning and the regrouping process, if there is agreement among the parties, will only begin on Thursday or Friday. An aide to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said the Special Committee will meet on Monday, but the members of the committee were not informed of it till late in the evening on Sunday.
"The more time the leaders take to resolve the outstanding issues, the more harm it will do to the regrouping calendar," said Coordinator of the Special Committee Secretariat Balananda Sharma.
He said the surveying team will be unable to meet the November 23 deadline if the Special Committee fails to take decisions.
In the November-1 peace deal, the major parties have agreed to integrate a maximum of 6,500 Maoist combatants in the Nepal Army and decided to provide cash package worth Rs 500,000 to Rs. 800,000 to combatants opting for voluntary retirement. They have proposed a rehabilitation package of Rs 600,000-Rs 900,000, whose details drafted by the Special Committee Secretariat is yet to get approval from the committee.
The main opposition Nepali Congress has suggested that combatants should be entitled to a package worth Rs 600,000 only if they opt for a minimum one-year training course. The package proposes cash that remains after deducting the cost involved in the rehabilitation programme to combatants in two to four installments.
In recent discussions with the party leadership, Maoist commanders insisted that the disabled combatants and lactating women be given a special cash package higher than that of the normal combatants. They also urged the party leadership to ensure that the current educational qualification of the combatants be accepted as the criteria for the integration.
The seven-point deal commits to relaxing the age and educational criteria for the combatants opting to join the Nepal Army.
"Some issues are yet to be settled. We are optimistic that the process will start either on Thursday or Friday," said PLA Spokesperson Chandra Prakash Khanal "Baldev." A delegation of PLA commanders met UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal after his return from London on Sunday and apprised him of the situation on ground.
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