Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told UN secretary-general´s special envoy Tamrat Samuel at his office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday that since the peace process is unlikely to reach it logical conclusion by July 23, another term may be necessary, according to his foreign policy advisor Rajan Bhattarai.
The term of the UN´s special mission is until July 23.
The prime minister told Samuel, who is also director of Asia and Pacific Division at the UN´s Department of Political Affairs, that the government would consult political parties before making a decision.
UNMIN, which was established on January 23, 2007 for a year, has been given three extensions. Recently, the UN mission, especially its chief Karin Landgren, has come under a lot of criticism for their role, with Nepali Congress accusing it of bias. Landgren´s briefing to the UN Security Council in New York on May 5 about the disputes between the political parties and the controversy surrounding the dismissal of the army chief was one-sided and factually incorrect.
The briefing´s records show that she had selectively quoted the Interim Constitution and the Army Act 2063 BS as well as claiming that the Nepali Congress had also supported the Maoist government´s sacking of army chief Rookmangud Katawal. The party said the account is incorrect.
Samuel who arrived on Tuesday is leaving on June 14 and is scheduled to meet top political leaders in the country.
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