Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced on Saturday that the government was preparing to declare additional around 3,000 individuals as martyrs.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Martyrs Memorial Academy in Kathmandu, the prime minister stated that preparations were underway to enlist more than 3,000 persons killed during the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency as martyrs.

“I want to inform you all that the government will soon declare around 3,000 other people as martyrs. The preparations are underway. The list has been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Dahal said.

A process for the endorsement from a Cabinet meeting and issuance on the Rajpatra (Nepal Gazette) for the same has been initiated, Dahal added.

Prime Minister Dahal further assured that the government would facilitate the enlistment of all those who ‘sacrificed their lives during the people’s war’ but are yet to be recognised, adding that he had paid special attention to ensure that none were left out.

“To the families of those martyred and those still missing, this is no ordinary decision. It has honoured our revolution. The war has been honoured. And, the martyrs have been honoured as national martyrs.”

In March of last year, the Dahal government had enlisted 8,371 persons killed during the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency as martyrs.

The move last year had met with criticism as a populist announcement to divert the public attention from a controversial bill tabled in the Parliament to amend the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act.