Saturday, April 30 2005 15:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Reacting cautiously to lifting of three-month emergency in Nepal, India today (Apr 30, 2005) described it as the "first step" towards the restoration of multi-party democracy, which still required immediate release of political prisoners and other measures to be taken.

"We, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and myself, had conveyed to King Gyanendra that political processes should be restored, political prisoners should be released, emergency should be lifted and Indian channels should be allowed to be aired and processes should be started which culminate in multi-party elections," External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said in New Delhi, while commenting on the developments in Nepal.

"This is the first step," he said.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman said that India wanted to see release of all political leaders still in custody and the restoration of civil liberties, which could open the way for reconciliation between the two constitutional forces.

New Delhi had reacted sharply to the arrest earlier this week of former Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, saying it was "contrary" to the assurances given by the King to the Prime Minister in Jakarta last week on the margins of the Afro-Asian Summit.