India, Nepal cautious on security issues

India and Nepal are moving cautiously on security related issues and New Delhi has assured the neighbour that it will assist in the training of its police force.

India and Nepal are moving cautiously on security related issues and New Delhi has assured the neighbour that it will assist in the training of its police force. The Joint Consultative Committee JCC, an institutional mechanism between India and Nepal for defence cooperation, will also be revived even as Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said all issues with the neighbour have been sorted out.

After a meeting with visiting Prime Minister of Nepal G P Koirala, Mukherjee said that a meeting of the JCC would be held soon to discuss the areas of cooperation in defence. India, a key donor to Nepal, had suspended military assistance after King Gyanendra assumed power last year.

Resumption of non-lethal military aid to Nepal also figured in the discussions today though sources said that a formal request from the neighbour was yet to be received. An outstanding loan of about Rs 100 crore that Nepal owed India due to defence purchases has been waived. With the seven-party alliance government in Kathmandu engaged in a peace initiative with the Maoists, sources said Koirala broached the release of left wing extremists lodged in various jails in India.

India, added sources, however, wants the prisoners to be examined on a 8216;8216;case by case8217;8217; basis instead of clubbing them under a single category. About 150 Nepali extremists are jailed in India.

The peace initiative in Nepal is at a critical juncture and an option being weighed by the alliance is the involvement of a UN agency if the Maoists decide to lay down arms. India, sources said, conveyed the view that it was upto Kathmandu to decide on the issue but that foreign agencies should not be involved in talks between the government and the extremists.

During his four-day visit that ended today, Koirala called on the President, Prime Minister, Vice-President, UPA chairman, Home Minister and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. He was accompanied by five ministers and an adviser.

The series of meetings also resulted in a slew of decisions by India to boost Nepal8217;s economy and infrastructure. This includes expediting long-term infrastructure projects, a one-time grant of Rs 100 crore for the country8217;s budget, a soft credit line of 100 million for infrastructure schemes, enhancement of the 8216;8216;Aid to Nepal8217;8217; budget from Rs 65 crore to 150 crore annually, exemption for Nepali goods from the 4 per cent additional customs duty and immediate supply of 25,000 metric tonne of fertilisers at subsidised rates. The total package is worth around Rs 1,000 crore.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also accepted an invitation by Koirala to visit the country at a mutually convenient date.