Nepal PM in peace talks vow

Mr Thapa's government has made concessions to Maoist demands

Nepal's Prime Minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa, has vowed to speed up the peace process following an agreement by Maoist rebels to resume stalled negotiations.

Speaking at a meeting of business leaders in the capital, Kathmandu, on Friday, Mr Thapa said his government would take any steps necessary to revive the peace initiative.

On Thursday, the chairman of the Maoist communist party, Prachanda, said he had directed rebel negotiators to sit down for a third round of talks.

He was responding to concessions made by the government on a number of conditions the Maoists had said must be fulfilled before they returned to negotiations.

Peace talks broke down in May and the Maoists had set Thursday as a deadline for the government to respond to their demands.

No date has yet been set for renewed talks.

Constitutional wrangle

Prachanda urged the government to ensure the involvement of mainstream political parties in the process.

Two of the three senior Maoists freed on Tuesday

The parties have backed the process, but they have questioned the constitutional status of the government.

King Gyanendra assumed executive powers last year and Mr Thapa is his second appointee as prime minister.

Mr Thapa said the government had been engaged in what he described as intensive and multi-pronged efforts to ensure the success of peace talks.

On Tuesday it met two key rebel demands when it freed three senior rebel leaders and disclosed information about three dozen activists who, the rebels said, had disappeared from the custody of the security forces.

But the government rejected demands to restrict the movement of the army and scrap a counter-terrorism pact with the United States.

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the government and rebels to try to restart peace efforts.

Mr Annan said he was at the disposal of Nepal to help achieve an end to a conflict which began in 1996 and has cost at least 7,000 lives.