KATHMANDU: The six-member task force of the three-party High-Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) has failed to finalise the

common Shankalpa Prastav (stricture motion) proposed to settle the political

stand-off.

The HLPM, five days ago, had entrusted the task force

a two-day time period

with the responsibility of finalising the common motion and present it at the HLPM within two days, no later

than February 21.

However, the task force has failed to meet for the fourth day in succession. The task force sat around 45 minutes this morning; however, it failed to make any progress about settling the language dispute in the content of the common motion.

“The meeting today could not dwell on sufficiently on the issues as the task force members belonging to the Unified CPN-Maoist and CPN-UML could not give time to the task force stating that they are busy in their

ongoing central committee meetings,” said Arjun

Narsingh KC, a member

of the task force from the Nepali Congress.

He informed that the task force failed to hold meetings in the past five days as the UCPN-M and UML members busied themselves in their party-meetings.

The UCPN-M is bent on dubbing the move the President had taken nine months ago on the then army chief as wrong in the motion while the NC and CPN-UML have been rigidly defending the steps taken by the President.

The task force is comprised of Narayan Kaji Shrestha ‘Prakash’ and Dev Prasad Gurung from the UCPN-M, Arjun Narsingh KC and Krishna Sitaula from the Nepali Congress and Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Yuvraj Gyanwali from the UML.

KC said that the task force member will sit again tomorrow and try to find a solution to the protracted political stalemate.