NEW DELHI // Following a historic agreement on integrating former Maoist fighters into the army, there finally appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel for Nepal's long-running constitutional crisis.
Since the Maoists ended their decade-long insurgency in 2006, the issue of what to do with their 19,600 fighters has been a major bone of contention between the leading parties.
The former rebels have spent the last five years in special camps, with their weapons under lock and key. It was agreed early on to offer them jobs in the Nepal Army, but ironing out the details has been a long and arduous process, with many in the army uncomfortable with the idea of welcoming their former enemies into their ranks.
Finally on Tuesday night, an agreement was finalised to create a new special directorate under the Nepal army that will include 6,500 Maoist fighters alongside soldiers from other security forces. It will be responsible for development works, industrial security, forest security and disaster relief.
The remaining Maoist combatants will be offered retirement and rehabilitation packages worth between US$6,300 and US$11,400 (Dh23,000-42,000), depending on rank.
It was also decided to establish a truth and reconciliation commission within a month to look into allegations of war crimes committed during the insurgency, a move welcomed by rights organisations.
"It appears to be a positive step after a long impasse," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"We urge the government to address allegations of human-rights violations and prosecute all perpetrators as soon as possible."
An estimated 16,000 people died in the civil war, and human rights groups havecollected evidence of thousands of extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances - most of them by the government forces, but many by the Maoists.
The country's leaders have been repeatedly criticised by local and international rights organisations for failing to prosecute a single person. Under the new agreement, Maoists willalso return land confiscated or captured during the war.
Nepal has been through three prime ministers since the monarchy was abolished and the first fully democratic elections held in 2008.
But the accession of Baburam Bhattarai, a moderate leader within the Maoist party who was elected by parliament in August, raised hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations with the other leading parties.
"It was now or never for Nepal," said Sujeev Shakya, a well-known political and economic commentator in Kathmandu.
"The question is, what comes next? There have been a lot of political changes in the last five years but what the country really needs now are more jobs, more infrastructure, more investment." The country is also waiting for a new constitution, a draft of which was originally due by May 2010.
The deadline has already been extended three times and the Constituent Assembly looks likely to miss another at the end of this month.
Despite the delays, a mood of cooperation appears to have set in among the main parties.
"There are many hard negotiations ahead," said Anagha Neelakantan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group in Kathmandu.
"But in private all political parties are being flexible and realistic about things like how many states will be created and the divisions of power between centre and state. There is already informal agreement on things like electoral systems and forms of governance."
Nepal has come a long way since the start of the year, when the country had been without an official prime minister for six months, and the Constituent Assembly had failed in 16 separate elections to choose a successor.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) abandoned its role supervising the Maoist camps in January.
In her parting statement, UNMIN chief Karin Lundgren warned there was a risk of Nepal returning to civil war, or of an army-backed coup, if the stalemate continued.
The prospect of a return to violence now seems increasingly remote, although a hardline faction within the Maoist party, led by senior vice-chairman Mohan 'Kiran' Baidya, has rejected Tuesday's agreement.
"This agreement is not in the interest of the people. We do not accept this deal", said Mr Baidya.
His faction had called for more Maoist fighters to be given jobs in the army, and opposed Bhattarai's decision in September to hand over the keys to the Maoist weapons containers to a parliamentary committee.
With elections expected within the next two years, however, an actual split in the party is unlikely.
"It's difficult to see how the entire party organisation can be split," said Ms Neelakantan. "The lower ranks want to see unity amongst the leaders, not bickering, and no one will benefit in the next election from a split now."
