The top leaders of Nepal’s three major political parties have agreed to expedite the formation of the search committee to recommend candidates for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons as soon as possible. During a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar on Thursday, the leaders decided to fast-track the remaining tasks of the peace process.

Leaders from the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, and the Maoist Centre agreed to give full shape to the search committee entrusted to select heads and members of the commissions, said Shakti Basnet, a deputy general secretary of the Maoist Centre. The next Cabinet meeting, scheduled for Friday, is expected to give full shape to the search committee.

“The Cabinet will decide the members of the search committee in its upcoming meeting, accelerating the formation of both the TRC and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons,” a source close to the prime minister stated.

Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also leader of the main opposition in the House, were present at the meeting. Other leaders in attendance included Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Maoist Centre’s Basnet, and Attorney General Ramesh Badal.

Basnet added that Thursday’s meeting agreed to finalise the search committee, which had been initiated by his party chair, Dahal, when he was prime minister before being replaced by Oli in mid-July.

“The meeting to expedite the remaining tasks of the peace process follows the decision made during Maoist Centre chair Dahal’s premiership. The parties had agreed to form a search committee to select candidates for the two commissions,” Basnet said.

Previously, the Parliament passed a bill related to transitional justice, which was ratified by the President on August 29. The House of Representatives passed the bill on August 14, followed by its approval by the National Assembly on August 22.

The two commissions have been paralysed since July 2022 after the government decided to extend their terms without retaining their chairmen and members.