Given the reluctance of Nepal’s political parties to further extend the term of the Constituent Assembly, lack of progress in implementing the five-point deal will result in the CA becoming defunct by the end of August.

The Nepalese Army’s proposal on integration addresses both the Maoists’ insistence on integration of the ex-combatants and the non-Maoists’ anxiety that the army could face a professional crisis and politicisation.

Though fuzzy, there are linkages between Indian and Nepalese Maoists and these have been either admitted or downplayed by all sides –– the Nepalese Maoists, the Indian Maoists and the Indian government.

With Prachanda’s announcement that the Maoists intend to launch an indefinite nationwide general strike, a major crisis seems to be brewing in Nepal.