AISC orders PLA to stop recruitment

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Published: March 08, 2009 09:29 PM
KATHMANDU, March 8: A meeting of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal directed the Maoist People´s Liberation Army (PLA) to stop its recruitment drive with immediate effect, Sunday evening. [break] The AISC decision comes a few hours after the Supreme Court issued an order staying the recruitment in the PLA.

"While agreeing unanimously that the ongoing recruitment in the PLA was against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the special committee directed the PLA to stop the fresh recruitment," a member of AISC, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, told myrepublica.com. Dr Mahat represents main opposition, Nepali Congress (NC), in the 8-member committee.

The AISC, headed by PM Dahal who is also the chairman of the Unified CPN-Maoist, has two members each from three ruling parties – Unified Maoist, CPN-UML and Madhesi People´s Rights Forum – and NC.

Dr Mahat said the committee came to the decision after a long discussion. He said the AISC´s directives will reach the PLA on Monday or Tuesday. However, Mahat didn´t say anything about recently concluded fresh recruitment in the Nepal Army, which also essentially goes against the CPA.

PLA Commander Nanda Kishor Pun had announced on March 2 that the PLA would start the recruitment on March 3. All the seven main cantonments, where the PLA combatants are sequestered, had called fresh applications to fill more than 12,000 positions that fell vacant after the United Nations disqualified them in a verification process agreed by the Maoists and all major political parties.

Dr Mahat said the meeting also discussed a Terms of Reference (TOR) of a proposed technical committee of AISC. However, he said, no decision was made in this regard. Formation of the 8-member technical committee has been envisaged to facilitate the work of the AISC.