In an unexpected move late Friday night, Nepali King Gyanendra lifted the state of emergency throughout Nepal immediately after his return from a 10-day visit to Indonesia, China and Singapore.
 
King Gyanendra has lifted the state of emergency throughout Nepal effective from Friday evening, the Royal Palace Principal Secretariat said late Friday night in a communique.

The king lifted the order of the state of emergency in accordance with the Article 115 of the Constitution 1990, the communique said.

The nearly three-month long state of emergency has been lifted two days before its expiry.

King Gyanendra declared the state of emergency on Feb. 1 after dismissing Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government and taking over the power of the state by himself.

Following the lifting of the state of emergency, King Gyanendra issued various orders late Friday night to give continuity to the functioning of the Royal Commission for Control of Corruption (RCCC).

The RCCC, formed on Feb. 16 for effective enforcement of works relating to corruption control, becomes defunct once the state of emergency is lifted.

The RCCC arrested former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday, and then ordered him to remain in judicial custody for seven days, to inquire about a contract regarding the construction of the multi-million-US-dollar Melamchi Drinking Water Supply Project during his tenure.

King Gyanendra has accused all the previous governments in recent 14 years of rampant corruption.

Meanwhile, the king said world leaders have supported the step he had taken against terrorism.

"In the Asian-African Summit, we presented our stance against terrorism and the leaders of friendly countries supported us," Gyanendra told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport after his returning home.

He said the international community has expressed "goodwill and support to the Nepalese people's desire for peace," while the world leaders expressed "deep concern" over the problems Nepal has been facing.

Speaking at the same occasion, Nepali Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey said, Nepal is able to convince the international community that the king's Feb. 1 move was taken to save the country from the clutches of terrorism.

"The bilateral meetings with prominent leaders attending the Asian-African Summit, have made a significant contribution to project Nepal's image in the international stage," Pandey said.

King Gyanendra was among the first leaders to sign the Declaration on a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership.

Nepali King Gyanendra arrived in Kathmandu Friday afternoon after completing a 10-day long visit to three countries of Asia.

He left Kathmandu on April 20 for Jakarta to participate in the Asian-African Summit, and addressed the meeting on April 22. The Nepali monarch also met world leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, on the sidelines of the summit.

From Jakarta, he proceeded to Hainan province of China to take part in the Bo'ao Forum for Asia on April 23-24. On the way back home, he visited Singapore on April 26.

This was the first foreign visit by King Gyanendra after his takeover of power of the state on Feb. 1.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2005)