Both the leaders of Seven Party Alliance (SPA) government and the Maoists have claimed that they have reached vital understanding on all key issues including that of arms management. They have said they are likely to formally present the comprehensive agreement before the people today.

“There would be a summit meeting between Seven Party leaders and the Maoist leaders at around 4 pm on Monday,” said Shekhar Koirala, central leader of ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and an insider to the ongoing series of informal parleys between the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist chairman Prachanda.

The NC leader Koirala revealed that the issue of arms management has ‘almost been settled.’ He added that the understanding on this issue involved having ‘single lock system with some UN technology installed to check its tampering.’

Earlier, speaking in Pokhara on Sunday, chairman Prachanda had said that they would lock up all the weapons apart from those required to provide security to their camps. He said that the key to the lock would remain with commander of Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army. He also said that Nepali Army (NA), too, would have to similarly lock up its arms.

Meanwhile, Kantipur daily quotes sources as informing that during the Sunday evening meeting between PM Koirala and Prachanda in presence of UN representative Ian Martin, it has been agreed to lock up Maoist arms. This will be monitored by the UN team through CCTV and alarm system. Likewise, the UN team will also monitor NA. “There has been understanding to manage the similar quantity of arms of NA also,” said Barshaman Pun aka Ananta, in charge of special central command of the Maoists.

According to the daily, the Maoists have revealed during the peace talks that they have around 35,000 guerrillas. They will be put in seven big and 21 small cantonments. As per the Maoist military organization, they will be called 7 division and 21 brigades. The Maoists have also informed that they have around 25,000 modern weapons apart from country-made guns, hand-made bombs etc. The Maoists would first propose the locations for those cantonments, which would then be studied by the UN. They have agreed to lock up the arms within 15 days of agreement, following which the procedures of forming interim government, interim legislature and promulgating interim constitution will begin.