Delhi, arms will wait for King to get real

Indian supply of arms to Nepal will not commence till King Gyanendra is seen as taking the first ‘‘tangible steps’’ to ...

Indian supply of arms to Nepal will not commence till King Gyanendra is seen as taking the first ‘‘tangible steps’’ to relax emergency measures in the kingdom. He is also expected to install some sort of a government as a first step towards restoration of multi-party democracy.

It’s learnt that the King indicated to the Indian leadership in Jakarta that he would not extend the state of emergency after April 30 across Nepal but confine these measures only to Maoist strongholds.

Gyanendra, who returns from his tour of China and Singapore tomorrow, is also expected to cobble together a pro-royalist government under Kirti Nidhi Bishta, vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers.

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New Delhi is now debating whether military supplies should be resumed if the King does carry out these changes. For now, officials say New Delhi will monitor the situation closely since the King’s administration continues to target leaders of the Opposition and student bodies.

‘‘Despite pressure from the armed forces, New Delhi is in no hurry to supply weapons to Nepal until Gyanendra takes tangible and not cosmetic steps,’’ a senior official told The Indian Express today.

The King’s meeting with External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh did give rise to some confusion with the Nepal media even reporting that India had agreed to resume arms supply.

As diplomatic circles wondered what India was up to in Nepal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also met Gyanendra, commented that the arms supply issue needed to be looked at from a ‘‘proper perspective’’.

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Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Joint Secretary (Nepal) were in Bhutan during the Jakarta meeting and even Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, was unaware of any change in New Delhi’s stand.

Noticing media reports in Kathmandu, Mukherjee even made a call to Jakarta to check whether India had decided to resume arms supply. He was told that the decision depended on how events unfolded in Nepal. To add to the confusion, there was no record of what was exactly said at Natwar Singh’s meeting with Gyanendra. Apparently, no notes were taken down.

Sources said that the King may test the resolve of the international community by appointing Kirti Nidhi Bishta, known for a pro-China tilt, as Prime Minister with ministers from royalist parties such as the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party and Lok Janshakti Party.

According to sources, the leadership of mainstream political parties will continue to be targeted by the Royal Commission on Control of Corruption but media censorship may go to address one of the major concerns of the international community.