Nepal army will be sent to barracks

Kathmandu, June 30 (UNI) Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs K P Sharma Oli has said the government is making preparations to send the army to the barracks and dissolve the Unified Command, media reports said today.

''The government would take all decisions regarding the army as Nepal Army has already come under it,'' The Himalayan Times quoted Mr Oli as saying.

He said the process of forming an interim government could go ahead after the management of the Nepal Army and the Maoists.

No one knows exactly the number of weapons the two armies have, UN supervision in this regard is a must, he added.

Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's ill health has been stalling important decisions in the parliament.

Mr Oli said, ''The Parliament will urge the UN to get involved in arms management after holding a discussion on the issue in the presence of the Prime Minister in Parliament.'' He further said that the Parliament can be dissolved to make way for an interim government.

He also said budget for the royal family would be slashed in the next fiscal. ''An interim government could present the budget for the next fiscal if it is formed in between,'' he informed.

On the issue of retaining monarchy, he said the same would be decided by a Constituent Assembly.

UNI XC ARB RAI2208