India welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire by the Maoists in the Kathmandu Valley ahead of the general strike of the seven agitating political parties.

“We welcome the ceasefire, as you know India has always taken the position that violence is not the answer to the problems facing Nepal and that the Maoists should abandon violence as a political instrument,” Navtej Sarna, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, told media.

Issuing a statement on Monday, Maoist supreme Prachanda said his party had taken the decision “to cease all of its military activities” in the capital valley until further notice ahead of the general strike called by the seven-party alliance slated for April 6-9.

India also urged the constitutional forces to work together to find a lasting solution to end the conflict of Nepal.

“We trust that this ceasefire will be of a permanent nature and we continue to believe that the constitutional forces in Nepal should work together and find a lasting solution to the problems being faced by the country,” Sarna added.

He also informed that the US assistant secretary of state, Richard Boucher, who heads the newly re-constituted State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asia would be visiting Delhi for consultations from April 6-8.

Boucher is also expected to discuss Nepal during his visit to India.

India and the US have been stalling military assistance to Nepal following the February 1 royal takeover of last year terming it as setback to democracy. nepalnews.com pb Apr 05 06