Indian envoy Sood meets Prachanda on Maoist strike

KATHMANDU - Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood on Thursday met Unified CPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and discussed issues related to the ongoing Maoist agitation.

During the meeting, Sood expressed his concern over the agitation, deepening political crisis, attempts being made to solve the crisis, among others.

Prachanda’s meeting with Sood is significant as the Maoists are saying their chief agenda of agitation is against Indian intervention in Nepal.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has tried to allay concerns of foreign diplomats in Nepal about the complicated political situation of the country.

In a meeting with some 44 diplomats and heads of donor agencies in Nepal, Nepal said that he was ready to take difficult decisions to give a way out to the deepening political crisis.

He, however, said that the unconstitutional steps taken by the Unified CPN (Maoist) to unseat the government is hindering attempts to resolve the problem.

Meanwhile, normal life across Nepal was crippled for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday because of the indefinite general strike.

Maoist agitators continue to stage demonstrations in major thoroughfares of Kathmandu since this morning to enforce the strike.

Transportation, market places, academic institutions and industries have been brought to a virtual standstill.

A huge number of police personnel in riot gear has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Although, the strike was relatively peaceful in the initial days, violence has started picking up in the course of the shutdown. There have been clashes between Youth Force cadres and Young Communist League cadres in various places.

A youth force cadre was killed in Lothar, Makwanpur on Wednesday evening.

Large number of security personnel have been deployed on the streets of Birgunj.

The situation continues to be tense with possibility of further violence, Nepalnews reported. (ANI)