KATHMANDU: A political merger has been forged among Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), former leadership of the Nagarik Unmukti Party and Tharuhat/Tharuwan campaigners.

A nine-point agreement has been inked among these parties and groups at a programme organized to announce the political integration here today.

The agreement was signed by Vice-President of RSP, Dol Prasad Aryal, Nagarik Unmukti Party’s former senior Vice-President Damodar Pandit and Laxman Tharu, on the behalf of the Tharuhat/Tharuwan campaign and Surendra Chaudhary, as a representative of campaign.

The agreement states that a legal and constitutional process would be initiated to declare the Tharu-dominated area as a Tharu protected special zone for the protection and promotion of the religious and cultural system of the Tharu community.

The agreement also acknowledges the Tikapur incident occurred in 2015 as a political incident and all signatory parties of the agreement expressed their commitment to implement the recommendations furnished by all high-level committees related to peace and security upon the formation of the federal government in the leadership of the RSP.

They have also agreed to fully implement the reservation allocated for the Tharu communities across all public including civil service, judicial service and police in accordance with the prescribed quota for reserved categories.

Furthermore, they have consented to take initiatives to forge an all-party consensus in ensure good governance in the provinces, taking into account geography, population, capacity and cultural identity.