Nepali Congress gave its full mandate to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to hold talks with Maoist leadership for solving more than six-year old armed insurgency in the country.

The central committee of the ruling Nepali Congress that convened in Kathmandu Friday discussed the Maoist issue and gave its clear mandate to Prime Minister Deuba to hold talks with Maoists and bring it to a logical end, said a central committee member who was present in the meeting.

In the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Deuba briefed the central committee members about the recent developments in connection with the peace process with Maoist rebels. The meeting then asked Deuba to go ahead for talks with the rebels, for which the party has full backing, said general secretary of the Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala.

The central committee meeting was called to discuss the recent ceasefire between the government and Maoist rebels and the development of the peace process.

The next meeting would be held on Monday. nepalnews.com yl Aug. 3