KATHMANDU: Blaming them of being Maoist sympathisers, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MPR) has fired secretaries of District Peace Committee, who were appointed by then UCPN-Maoist-led government.

The erstwhile Maoist -led government had appointed secretaries in 61out of 71 districts across the country on ad hoc basis to assist in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Accord.

The secretaries had the sixth-month tenure.

“Their term of office had already expired without the possibility of further extension,” Hari Krishna Shrestha, MPR’s spokesperson, told The Himalayan Times.

Meantime, MPR is preparing to fill the vacant positions from the roster of civil servants, giving up the tradition of political appointment.

“The MPR has written a letter to the Ministry of General Administration to send fresh recruits to the peace committee,” he said.

Meanwhile, the sacked secretaries have threatened to launch an agitation protesting the government move.

The peace committee is mandated to perform crucial tasks on the bumpy road to peace process but the frequent change in the government and the worsening intra-party feuds, has left it in a state of suspended animation.

The peace committee is entrusted with the task of monitoring the implementation of the Ministry’s relief and reconstruction programmes.

The committee is also entrusted with the task of providing necessary

support to the task force constituted by the government for the collection

of data on the conflict-affected individuals and families.