The first meeting of the Nepali government talks team has decided to create a conducive environment for talks with the guerrillas.

The meeting of the committee held after the appointment of two more members on Thursday decided to release all political detainees and take back the charges against the guerrilla detainees.

The meeting also decided to form a committee shortly with the mandate of publicizing the whereabouts of all people who disappeared as a result of past government measures, within a month.

The guerrillas have demanded the government that it release all political detainees and make public the whereabouts of the missing people to create a conducive environment for talks.

Thursday's meeting of the Council of Ministers appointed Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradip Gyawali and Minister of State for Transport and Labor Management Ramesh Lekhak in the government negotiation team headed by Home Minister Krishna Rasa Sitaula.

Talking to journalists after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, Home Minister Sitaula said that they will hold talks with the guerrillas at the possible earliest date.

On the guerrilla's demand to release all political detainees as pre-condition for talks, Sitaula said the government already started the process of releasing guerrilla cadres.

He said that the government has released 467 guerrilla cadres so far.

Earlier, the guerrilla also formed a three-member negotiation team headed by spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara to hold talks with the government.

The guerrilla said that the top leader of the party, Prachanda, will come for the summit talks with the government.

Source: Xinhua