PM CONSUL;TS ARMY CHIEF

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PM BHATTARAI HOLDS DISCUSSIONS WITH ARMY CHIEF

Kathmandu, 23 March: Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai on Friday met with Chief of Army Staff Chhatraman Singh Gurung and held discussions on the army integration issues, RSS reports.

During the meeting that took place at the Prime Minister's Office Singhadurbar, matters relating to the decisions made by the Special Committee formed for Supervision, Rehabilitation and Integration of the Maoist former combatants were discussed.

Finance Minister Barshaman Pun, People's Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Commander and Spokesperson Chandra Prakash Khanal and Special Committee Secretariat Coordinator Balananda Sharma were also present at the meeting.

Talking to media after the meeting, PLA Spokesperson Khanal said the meeting focused on the effective enforcement of the Special Committee decisions.

The meeting also dwelt on the issues relating to budget necessary for carrying out the integration of the Maoist former combatants and vivid aspects of the integration process.

The meeting was held in line with the decision made by the Special Committee meeting on Thursday.

Drawing the attention of the parties towards the acceleration of the integration process in line with the seven-point agreements reached among the parties on November 1, last year, the Special Committee meeting yesterday had directed the Secretariat to submit a concrete proposal on the integration to it within the next five days.

According to the Secretariat, arrangements will be made within the next five days for giving one more chance to 9,700 combatants opted for integration for going to rehabilitation or voluntary retirement.
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