CPN-UML general secretary Jhala Nath Khanal has called for the scrapping of the Tri-Partite Agreement (TPA) between Nepal, the dominion of India and Great Britain that has provisions for recruiting Gurkha soldiers in the British Army.

In a meeting with representatives of the Gurkha Army Ex-Soldiers’ Organisation (GAESO) at the party’s headquarters, Khanal said there was a need to review the treaty and a new one signed between Nepal and Britain, excluding India. He did not explain.

Tri-partite agreement to recruit Gurkha soldiers in the British Armed Forces was signed just a week before the independence of India in 1947. An influential leader of the ruling coalition, Khanal said the agreement was now outdated and needed review.

Stating that both Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist) should come to a negotiating point leaving their partisan interests on the issue of integrating Maoist combatants in national security organs, Khanal said all eligible Maoist combatants would get place in the national army. nepalnews.com ia Nov 05 08