India cold to Nepal minister

Nepal Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey today met External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and apprised him of the political developments in the Himalayan kingdom but the warmth and the traditional camaraderie was missing.

There was no joint press conference and the visit, the first after the royal takeover in Kathmandu, got a cool reception from India. Pandey explained why King Gyanendra dismissed the multi-party government, declared emergency, detained political leaders and imposed censorship on the press.

However, his Indian counterpart said New Delhi was disappointed and worried. The King's moves could prove to be a threat to the institution of monarchy, he said. The security situation in Nepal had not improved, and worse, the economic situation was deteriorating as well. This was likely to worsen as some of the donor countries had decided to suspend aid to Nepal.

As Pandey met the foreign minister, several Nepalese websites reported that the detention of the political leaders had been extended by two months"" a clear indication that King Gyanendra was thumbing his nose at the advice of the US, UK and India that these leaders should be released as soon as possible.

The suspension of military aid by the US, UK and India which was supplying ammunition, is a major setback to Nepal. Once the army's ammunition runs out (in about two months), it will be hard for them to get replenishment. In such a situation, business establishments will face a serious security threat and can even be forced to pull out of Nepal.

All that the visiting Nepalese officials were willing to say was that the visit was "related to the current political situation in Nepal".