Crisis in Nepal: Prachanda fires Army chief, President steps in

Nepal's three-year-old peace process and experiment in political partnership between former insurgents and pro-democracy forces today appeared to have been dealt a crippling blow after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, on the diktat of the Communist Party of Nepal Maoists (CPN-M), sacked Army chief General Rookmangud Katawal for “insubordination”.

Dahal’s move, which sparked protests from most political parties, including ruling coalition partners, and put a big question mark on the continuance of the government, was rejected by President Rambaran Yadav who, as the Supreme Commander, directed Katawal to continue as Army chief. Yadav even sent a letter to this effect to Dahal but the Prime Minister’s office declined to acknowledge it.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) held an emergency meeting after Katawal’s sacking and decided not only to withdraw its ministers from the Cabinet but also move a no-confidence motion to bring down the government.

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