Supreme Court of Nepal issues show cause notice to Prime Minister Prachanda

Nepal’s Supreme Court on Friday issued a show cause notice to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on a writ petition. The petition has sought criminal prosecution of Prachanda for claiming responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people during the decade-long Maoist insurgency in the country. According to Supreme Court sources, the petition was filed on Tuesday by advocate Gyanendra Aran and other victims of Maoist insurgency. Sources said that another writ petition by one Kalyan Buddhathokhi is in the process of registration.

Citing that there was no sufficient cause for passing the order in the present context, the apex court said that it was not necessary to issue an interim order. The petitioners demanded that the court issue an interim order to arrest 68-year-old Prime Minister Prachanda. It may be noted that on January 15, 2020, while addressing an event in Kathmandu, Prachanda had reportedly said that as the leader of the Maoist party that led the insurgency for a decade, he took responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people and The country should take responsibility for the remaining deaths.

It is estimated that around 17,000 people died during the decade-long insurgency. Prachanda had waged an armed struggle for a decade in the name of people’s war. The insurgency, which began on February 13, 1996, officially ended on November 21, 2006 after reaching a comprehensive peace agreement with the then government.

Disclaimer:newsinfrance.com has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.