Nepal puts off move to check king's powers

The proclamation would now be tabled after an expansion of the cabinet and a debate there, political party leaders said after a three-hour meeting.

"The cabinet is not complete yet. By Tuesday or Wednesday it will be expanded and the expanded cabinet will give a final shape to the draft and it will be presented to parliament," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, general-secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML).

Cutting the king's powers was a key demand of pro-democracy protesters during weeks of demonstrations last month, which led to King Gyanendra reinstating parliament and handing the administration to a multi-party government.

The proclamation is expected to strip the king of his title of supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and give control of the army to parliament.

The administration would no longer be known as "His Majesty's Government" and the king's key advisory body, the Raj Parishad or privy council, is likely to be abolished.

Besides, the draft aims to tax the king's income and property and allow his actions to be challenged in court.

King Gyanendra came into direct conflict with political parties after he sacked the government and assumed power in February 2005 saying the parties had failed to tackle a Maoist revolt.

The Maoists have been fighting a bloody war against the king for more than a decade in which over 13,000 people have been killed.

New Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has matched a rebel ceasefire which the king had earlier rejected and invited the Maoists for talks.

The parties and the Maoists have agreed to hold elections to an assembly to draft a new constitution and decide the future of the monarchy. But no dates have been set for the vote.