"The secretariat has been asked to prepare the procedures and standards in line with the seven-point agreement [singed on November 1 last year] within five days," said Special Committee member Dr Minendra Rijal about the committee decision that gives momentum to a peace process which has remained largely stagnant since the discharge of Maoist combatants opting for voluntary retirement. [break]
According to Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, the secretariat will carry out its mandate in coordination with the Nepal Army. "The prime minister is convening a meeting of the army chief and the coordinator of the secretariat and will direct the army to cooperate with the secretariat," he said.
Mahat said the secretariat will prepare a plan of action for each of the steps involved in the integration and their sequencing while outlining the time required for each step.
Another Special Committee member, Bhim Rawal, said that the meeting also decided to give a chance to the Maoist combatants to choose voluntary retirement after finalizing the procedures and standard norms.
"The idea is to bring the number of Maoist combatants within the allotted quota [6,500]," said Rawal, adding, "Then the integration process will begin."
The Special Committee will then determine the size and leadership of the directorate after establishing the actual number of Maoists to be integrated, said Mahat.
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