After months of stagnation in the transitional justice process following the expiry of the Om Prakash Mishra-led committee on December 16 last year without nominating office bearers to the transitional justice commissions, Prime Minister KP Oli on March 10 appointed former law minister and advocate Agni Kharel as his human rights and transitional justice advisor.

In little over one week since his appointment, Kharel has already met top cross party leaders, civil society members and victim representatives. “We have to work with maturity. It might take some time but the stalled process will take the right track this time,” said Kharel.

Appointment of the chairpersons and members in the Truth and Reconciliation Commision and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons is a major step forward to bring the stalled process on track. For that a recommendation committee needs to be constituted to pick the two chairs and eight members.

Leaders close to Oli say he has already met Mishra to lead the recommendation committee again. In response, Mishra demanded assurance to ensure his panel doesn’t fail this time. For that he wants commitments not just from Oli, but also from Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Leaders claim that Oli and Deuba have already reached consensus to constitute the recommendation committee. Along with Mishra, they are also in talks with Hari Krishna Karki, former chief justice, to lead the committee. However, Maoist Centre chair Dahal is yet to come on board.

Though Kharel has already met Dahal, the three leaders are yet to sit together to decide on the recommendation committee. “There was an understanding for a tripartite meeting for Monday, but Dahal didn’t show up saying he was not in the Valley. The next day he left for Chitwan without attending the meeting,” said an aide to Oli. “We don’t know why. However, he has been saying he is ready for the meeting.”

Those from the Dahal’s secretariat say there was a broad understanding for the meeting but the date and time was not determined. “Timing for such meetings is determined in the time convenient for everyone. Yes, the chairperson also wants a meeting but timing was not determined,” said Govinda Acharya, Dahal’s personal secretary.

After staying in Chitwan on Tuesday, Dahal left for Bara on Wednesday to attend the party's east-west campaign. “He will be back to Kathmandu on Sunday. I believe the leaders will sit once he returns,” said Acharya.

Those in Oli’s secretariat expect the same.

Once the committee is constituted, it will have two months to nominate candidates. The Cabinet will then make the appointments. If everything goes smoothly, the new commissions may have their leadership by early June, according to officials.

The two commissions have been inactive since July 2022 after the government decided to extend their terms without retaining their chairmen and members. The government had claimed the bill to amend the transitional justice law would be endorsed by October 2022 and the appointments be made based on the Act. However, it took around two more years for the amendment.

After long negotiations among the major parties, the federal parliament amended the Act in August 2024, more than nine years after the Supreme Court turned down numbers of amnesty provisions in it. Two months later, the government on October 18 formed a five-member panel coordinated by Mishra to recommend the names.

Formed in February 2015 to investigate war-era crimes and atrocities, the truth commission has received 63,718 complaints. Similarly, the disappearances commission has around 2,500 complaints to investigate and find out whereabouts of the people forcibly disappeared by the Maoist and the state security forces.