Ex-US senator urges Nepali king to restore democracy

Speaking to reporters after talks with Gyanendra here, Daschle said all political prisoners should be freed and called for the scrapping of the anti-graft body which on Tuesday jailed Deuba and former public works minister Prakash Man Singh.

"All political prisoners including Deuba and Singh should be released and the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) dissolved," he said, referring to the powerful body set up by the monarch which critics say is being used to target opponents of his seizure of power.

"After the dissolution of the RCCC the corruption cases should be referred to the constitutionally-created Commission for Investig-ation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA)," said Daschle, who arrived here last week at the invitation of the National Democratic Institute Nepal to assess the political situation.