Prior to its takeover of the cantonments, the national army had reservations about holding the selection process inside the cantonments. Even a plan endorsed by the Special Committee before the takeover of the cantonments by NA on April 10 had proposed to carry out the selections for integration at different barracks of the national army. [break]
"We are planning to conduct the selection process at the cantonments, which have now become a security base for the army," said NA Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ramindra Chhetri when asked about the venue for selections.
According to a source at the Special Committee, the army is making preparations to conduct the selections at the seven main cantonments and has accordingly formed seven selection committees.
Chhetri confirmed the formation of the selection committees and told Republica that the army is going to conduct the selection for officer-level ranks at its own barrack at Bharatpur.
Asked when the army would start selecting Maoist combatants for integration into the national army, Chhetri said, "The Nepal Army will being as soon as possible after members of the secretariat [of the Special Committee] return from the cantonments and some technical issues are resolved."
Not all secretariat members who lead categorization teams have returned to Kathmandu from the cantonments. The categorization team in Kailali concluded it work only on Thursday.
With the conclusion of the categorization process, only 3,129 Maoist combatants have chosen integration and are waiting for their selection by NA. Each combatant is required to meet the standard norms set by the army to be eligible for integration.
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