Army will be back in barracks: Oli

June 30, 2006
2 MIN READ
A
A+
A-

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, K P Oli

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, K P Oli (File Photo)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, K P Sharma Oli, has said the government was making final preparations to call soldiers back to the barracks and disband the “Unified Command” led by the Nepali Army.

Addressing the inaugural session of the second convention of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) Nepal chapter in Pokhara on Thursday, Oli said that the army was under the full control of the government.

He stressed that the process of formation of an interim government could be intensified after the management of arms of the Nepal Army and the Maoists’ army.

He further said there was the need of UN supervision of armed forces as no one exactly knows the number of weapons both the armies posses.

Oli said, “The parliament will urge the UN to get involved in arms management after holding a discussion on the issue in the presence of the Prime Minister.” He further said that the reinstated House of Representatives could be dissolved to make way for an interim government.

He said budget for the royal family would be slashed in the next fiscal year.

Addressing the programme, chairperson of the Interim Constitution Drafting Committee, Laxman Prasad Aryal, said the country currently needs a strong law related to media.

The convention selected a 24-member new committee under the chairmanship of Gopal Thapaliya.

Senior journalists Yuba Raj Ghimire and Agni Shikha have been named vice-chairmen and Narayan Wagle as the general secretary.

Similarly, Nirmala Sharma, Dharmendra Jha and Keshav Khanal have been named as secretary, treasurer and assistant secretary respectively.

The convention also selected regional coordinators as well. Yagya Sharma, Nisha Bishwokarma, Krishna Adhikari and Chitranga Thapa have been nominated regional coordinators for East, West, Mid-West and Far-west development regions respectively.