UNMIN's role not fair, leaders claim

Despite refusal from UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe, party leaders have accused the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) of not working fairly.

Talking at a face-to-face programme with journalists in Kathmandu on Friday, Nepali Congress leader Dr Ram Sharan Mahat said the UNMIN's monitoring of the Maoist combatants and arms has not been effective.

He stressed that getting correct number of combatants is necessary for the government to release funds for them. He criticised Maoist leadership of keeping the combatants still under their supervision despite being fed from state treasury.

CPN (UML) leader Bhim Prasad Acharya tuned in with Mahat that the state requires the number of combatants for releasing funds. He mentioned, the combatants must come under joint supervision of all parties, adding, the dispute on UNMIN has posed threat to success of the peace process.

Security specialist and Maoist lawmaker Indrajit Rai suggested parties to resolve the dispute based on the provisions in constitution and other agreements reached among UNMIN, Maoist and the government in the past. nepalnews.com