New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has proposed extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for another six months so that it can continue to support the country's peace process and help conduct the key Constituent Assembly polls.

In his latest report to the Security Council, Ban stated that the mission should maintain its existing staff strength in the Himalayan nation. An agreement signed last month between the Nepal Government and the Maoists on key issues of the country's transition to peace paved the way for holding of the twice postponed Constituent Assembly election by mid-April.

Once elected, the Assembly will draft a new constitution for Nepal, where an estimated 13,000 people were killed during the decade-long civil conflict that formally ended when the Government and Maoists signed a peace accord in 2006.

Ban advised against any downsizing of the UN s presence in the country, stressing that it could endanger prospects for a successful election in the newly agreed time frame.

"The deployment of international personnel to the regions and districts of Nepal has consistently been regarded as a key factor in creating a free and fair atmosphere for the election," he said.

"Not only is such an atmosphere required in the last stages of the electoral process but it also needs to be established with urgency for a successful election by April 12," he adds.

Source : PTI