Maoists claim Nepal peace deal

The peace plan will see 19,000 former rebels reintegrated into the Nepalese army [AFP]

The Nepali government and Maoist rebels have struck a deal which will lead to the formation of a new government within three months, the leader of the Maoist party has told Al Jazeera.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist leader popularly known as Prachanda, said a consensus agreement has been reached regarding how to take the peace process forward.

Al Jazeera’s Prerna Suri, reporting from Kathmandu on Friday, said a six-member body will be set up, with three members from the main political parties, including the Maoist party, and three other members from a special committee.

“They will be looking after the main clauses in the peace agreement, and that is the reintegration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepalese army,” she said.

“That also includes the monitoring of arms and ammunition which the UN was earlier supervising.

Prachanda said the timeline for the process was that within two or three months 19,000 former Maoist combatants were expected to be rehabilitated, and that within the same period a new Nepalese government would be formed.

UN pullout

The announcement from Prachanda came as the United Nations peace mission to Nepal ended its four-year engagement in the country on Friday.

“There was a fear here that once the United Nations leaves, that if there is a vacuum … there would be potential chaos,” our correspondent said.

Arms monitors will remain at camps where thousands of former rebels are confined until Saturday. It is these former rebels who will be reintegrated according to the plan that the Maoists have now agreed to.

On Friday, Robert Blake, the US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, spoke to Madhav Kumar Nepal, the country’s last prime minister and Prachanda, urging both to “respect their commitments under the comprehensive peace agreement”, PJ Crowley, the state department spokesman, said.