Officials and the representatives of loan-sharking victims signed a five-point agreement on Saturday after the government pledged to form a high-powered commission to look into the problems faced by the victims of predatory lending.

As per the agreement, the next Cabinet meeting will form such a commission and then the agitators will call off the protest.

An agreement has also been reached to request the government to expedite the process to amend the laws to criminalise unscrupulous lending.

It was also agreed to recommend to the government the formation of a district-level coordination/facilitation committee led by the chief district officer to address complaints related to loan-sharking.

The committees will have police personnel, district government attorneys, heads of land revenue and survey offices, representatives of banks and financial institutions and representatives of loan-sharking victims as members.

Such committees will facilitate the works of the commission, collect complaints and grievances from victims, help in evidence gathering and provide legal aid and conduct awareness activities.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal pledged to set up a high-level commission to resolve the issues of the victims of exorbitant interest rates.

Talking to victims at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar, Dahal had said the government was working to amend the law for a long-term solution to predatory lending malpractices.

Loan shark victims from various districts of the Tarai had arrived in the Capital on Sunday after walking for 11 days. They had returned to Kathmandu six months after a five-point agreement with the government that had ended their agitation last year.