Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice against Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and former prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai in a war crime case.
A single bench of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla issued the order, hearing a petition filed by child soldiers, including Lenin Bista, on the use of child soldiers in the ‘people’s war’ launched by the then CPN (Maoist) in the mid-1990s.
Dahal served as the commander of the armed struggle, which began in 1996, while Bhattarai was the head of the parallel government formed by the CPN (Maoist). The petitioners have accused both leaders of using children in war, stating that children were given guns, used as spies, placed on the front lines, and made to transport war materials. They have argued in the petition that such actions are considered war crimes under international law.
The bench also decided to give priority to the hearing.
