SURKHET: Commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)of the UCPN-Maoist Nanda Kishor Pun ‘Pasang’ today said the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants were being delayed due to the protracted political imbroglio.

Stating that the task had been hampered since rival parties flouted the spirit of the 12-point agreement, Pasang said to mediapersons at Dasarathpur during the inauguration of a football tournament, ‘’The integration process would have made a headway had other parties been honest.’’

He claimed that the wrong perception of the non-Maoist parties of the PLA had also been responsible for the delay. Pun said the main spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Accord was to form a national army by merging the PLA with the Nepali Army.

“We will not accept it if the government proposes to integrate only a few PLA combatants into the NA. The combatants verified by UNMIN are eligible for the merger,” he said, adding that the fighters could be not integrated into other security agencies.

Pun said the government had been neglecting the PLA though they were

acting responsibly. ‘’The government is biased with us and is treating us as criminals.’’ He called the Dudejhari incident a ploy of the government to defame the PLA.

Demanding that the government play the role of a guardian, he said the PLA wished to be a part of the national army before the promulgation of the new constitution.