Change in Nepal imminent: Karan Singh

      New Delhi: Prime Minister's special envoy to Nepal, Karan Singh today said that the ball is now in King Gyanendra's court for restoring multi-party democracy in Nepal and that the king would soon make an announcement in this regard. Singh said this as he arrived in New Delhi after a two-day visit to Kathmandu along with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. The senior Congress leader had a one-to-one meeting with the Nepalese King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, where he handed over Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's special letter to the King. Terming his meeting with King Gyanendra as positive, Singh said that India is for the restoration of the democracy in the Himalayan kingdom and that the king was receptive to suggestions offered. Karan Singh also regretted on the killing of people in today's violence in Nepal and hoped that today's violence would not derail the positive developments that have come today. Meanwhile, violence erupted in Bhaktapur and Kalanki town in Nepal. A Radio Nepal broadcast has said that three persons were shot dead in Kathmandu when police opened fire on a crowd who had gathered in defiance to the curfew orders. Earlier Singh had stressed on the need for genuine dialogue between the constitutional forces in that country, in order to urgently restoring multiparty democracy there, during his meeting with King Gyanendra today. Singh also conveyed to King Gyanendra, India's readiness to support all efforts to overcome the crisis that Nepal is faced with. The Special Envoy, however, emphasised that a lasting solution to the problems of Nepal has to be found by the people of Nepal through a peaceful political process.

       Singh had also met Nepal's former Prime Minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa, who said a solution to his nation's turmoil was in the hands of its own leaders. "India is concerned about the Nepalese crisis and Nepalese leaders have to resolve the crisis themselves leaving aside differences," Thapa told reporters after meeting. Singh along with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran had met Nepalese Chief of Army Staff General Pyar Jung Thapa, Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepali Congress (Democratic) President and former Premier Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday. The meeting came in spite of an 18-hour curfew and shoot-at-sight orders in the capital city imposed by the Royal government with an intention to foil a rally called by the pro-democracy seven- party alliance. The curfew came into effect at 2:00 am (local time) and will last till 8:00 pm this evening. The government has already banned all public meetings and has doubled the detention period for human rights campaigners and opposition politicians who are in jail. Over one lakh people were expected to take part in the street protests planned by all major political parties today, demanding that King Gyanendra restore democracy in the country.

    The veteran Congress leader, Karan Singh is the scion of the royal family of Kashmir and is related to Gyanendra by marriage. He arrived as a special envoy of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while addressing a press conference in Kochi yesterday, had expressed optimism over the Karan Singh and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran's visit to the Himalayan Kingdom. He said that the visit would yield positive results and the crisis would be resolved soon to ensure the stability of not only Nepal but of the entire South Asian region. Meanwhile in Rupandehi, a district bordering India, voluntary organisations have begun relief distribution as the area is running short on food and fuel. The 15-day old general strike has crippled the transport system and many passengers have been stranded. "The entire traffic and passengers are stranded due to the general strike in Nepal. So we have made arrangements for free medical aid, food for those people," said Ishwari Bhandari, President, Siddharthnagar Transport Association. The strike called by seven-party political alliance and backed by Maoists entered its 15th day today. Including the latest deaths, at least eight people have been killed in two weeks of crippling protests, hundreds wounded and hundreds of others arrested.

    The United States and India have called repeatedly for the restoration of democracy. Diplomats have said events in Nepal are moving toward a climax. The Nepal's Royal Government freed two top political prisoners on Wednesday, signalling that King Gyanendra may want to negotiate with anti-monarchy protesters. They were under detention since January 19 just before opposition parties planned to hold a mass rally in the capital against the King. The king came under further pressure on Tuesday when three top human rights groups called for international sanctions against the monarch and top Nepali officials, accusing them of being "impervious to the suffering" of the Nepalese people. Despite the pressure, the World Bank's representative to the country said the economy could hold out for months even if Nepal was internationally isolated. Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed full power in February 2005, vowing to crush a decade-old Maoist revolt. The Indian government has asked the Sashastra Seema Bal troops deployed along the border to step up guard and watch out for the movement of Maoists from Nepal into the Indian Territory.

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