Nearly two months after assuming office, the government of Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has for the first time sent a formal letter to underground Maoists to hold peace talks to end a bloody communist insurgency that has claimed more than 7,000 lives in nearly seven years.

“A human rights activist is trying to broker talks, a formal letter has been sent to the Maoists on the

government’s behalf,” Minister for Physical Planning and Works Narayan Singh Pun told journalists in Biratnagar Friday, Space Time Today reported in its Saturday edition.

The government had earlier dismissed rebel offer talks offered through newspaper statements and asked Maoists to offer direct talks.

Without naming Maoists, King Gyanendra told a historic rally in the industrial town of Biratnagar Friday that those who rejected peace will be rejected permanently by society.

People of the eastern region defied a two-day Maoist strike to attend a civic reception to honour

Their Majesties the King and Queen Friday.