India for political consensus in Nepal

India believes there has to be a political solution to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal and will continue to nudge the political parties in that country to reach a consensus on the issue, reports said quoting Indian officials.

Indo-Asian News Service on Monday quoted an unnamed senior Indian official as saying that the security situation in Nepal had not been improving. He referred to the kidnapping of a group of Gurkha soldiers of the Indian Army by Maoist rebels earlier in January. The Gurkha soldiers were released later.

"We continue to press (Nepali) political parties to come together on a common platform," he said and, added, there was need for a clear understanding between the monarchy and (Nepali) political parties to fashion a strategy to deal with the Maoist problem.

The official said India continued to provide assistance to the security forces of Nepal to contain the challenge posed by the guerrillas.

"There has to be a combination of military and political measures to meet the situation," he added.

The official said there has been cross-border intelligence sharing between the two countries and ! it is beginning to make an impact in the fight against the Maoists, the news report said. nepalnews.com by Feb 01 05