Kathmandu: A writ petition was filed against Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” at the Supreme Court Tuesday concerning the 10-year-long armed conflict-era cases.
The petition holds Prachanda responsible for the murder of 5,000 people killed during the Maoist war (1996-2006) which he led as the chairman of the CPN-Maoist party.
Dozens of members of the families filed the petition based on Dahal’s public statement that he was ready to take the responsibility for the 5,000 people killed during the war.
Prachanda had made the statement some years ago where he stated that out of 13,000 those who were killed in Maoist insurgency in Nepal, he will take responsibility for only 5,000.
Advocate Gyanendra Raj Aran, one of the petitioners, says they decided to move the court as Dahal’s statement hurt the families.
“We are not politically motivated. We will accept whatever the court decides.”
The Supreme Court says a preliminary hearing of the case has been scheduled for Thursday.
Earlier Friday, the Supreme Court had directed its administration to register the case saying that war-era cases and serious abuse of human rights cannot be extempted.
Before registering the case, on Tuesday morning, eight different factions of the Maoist parties held a meeting led by Prachanda and decided to fight against any kind of conspiracies against the decade-long people’s war in Nepal.
In order to join the peaceful politics, the Maoists shunned the war and joined the overground politics in 2006 and signed the comprehensive peace agreement.
The agreement has envisioned completing the peace process in six months but it is in limbo over 17 years. No progress has been made in last 17 years so the international community is increasingly concerned and worried about the state of peace process in Nepal.
The Maoist leaders also warned of countering activities against the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and the political change in the country during Tuesday’s meeting.
Filed by advocates Aaran and Kalyan Budhathoki, the petition demands that Prachanda should be arrested and a probe launched.
The bench of Supreme Court Justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Hariprasad Phuyal last week ordered the registration of a writ against Prachanda’s statement.
According to the same order, a writ was registered in the Supreme Court Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the hearing on the writ is likely to be held Thursday.
