Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 2

Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa today said he would hold talks with his Bhutanese counterpart in resolving the Bhutanese refugee crisis.

"I will definitely hold talks with Bhutan," Thapa told journalists at the Tribhuvan International Airport prior to leaving for the 12th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to be held in Islamabad from January 4. The prime minister expressed hopes that the summit would be fruitful in combatting terrorism in the region and finalising the draft treaty framework for the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

He rapped the burning of the effigy of the Indian PM Vajpayee by the seven student organisations in protest against the detention of the CPN-UML leader Ishwar Pokhrel by the Indian security personnel at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. "Such incidents would dampen bilateral ties," he said. He declined to comment on whether the government would initiate action against those involved.