With the Maoists continuing extortion despite repeated calls from government and leaders of political parties, General Secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal once again urged Maoists not to intimidate people and extort money from the people on the pretext of feeding their militia.

Talking to journalists in Biratnagar on Sunday, Nepal said, “The government can request international donors to provide grants to manage the Maoist army if the latter is ready to halt extortion.”

On behalf of the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA), Nepal expressed confidence that the existing crisis could be resolved through the recently initiated government-Maoist negotiations and their ultimate goal of establishing ‘democratic republic’ would be achieved after holding elections for a constituent assembly, according to reports.

Since there was no possibility of holding such polls in free and fair manner without managing arms possessed by both Nepal Army and Maoists, the SPA was holding discussions to find a reliable mechanism in this regard, Nepal said.