New Delhi, July 12
India has decided to resume arms supplies to Nepal following the successful completion of integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army (NA), official sources here have confirmed.

“For the time being, we are beginning with logistical support required by Nepal for the elections (in November), mainly transport vehicles,” the sources added. Once the election process in Nepal was completed, officials from the two countries would sit together and discuss the military requirements of the Himalayan nation, they added. The two countries have a bilateral consultative group of security issues (BCGSI) which meets regularly to discuss bilateral cooperation on security matters.

The decision to resume arms supplies to Nepal was conveyed to the Nepalese leadership by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid during his visit to Kathmandu earlier this week.

The sources said India would provide more than 700 different types of vehicles to Nepal as part of logistical support to Nepalese security agencies and the Election Commission of Nepal by October to ensure the smooth conduct of elections there. The immediate supplies are valued at about Rs 1 billion. Some of the supplies are in the shape of grant and some as loan.

Nepal has for long been buying weapons from India under the India-Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950. India had stopped the supplies of both lethal and non-lethal weapons to Nepal following the royal coup in 2005.