Saturday, May 21 2005 20:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Giving a tacit backing to Nepal King Gyanendra's assumption of absolute power, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that the monarch's action should be seen in the light of failure of the previous Governments to contain the Maoists' "menace."

When asked at the South Asian Parliamentarians' conference here last night (May 21, 2005) whether his remarks that autocratic regimes brought democracy in a number of Countries would also apply to Nepal, Musharraf said the King's action should be seen from the point of containing the "Maoists' menace."

The General said that he has good relations with the King and declined to publicly comment on how Nepal should handle the situation arising out of the Maoist insurgency.

"One is concerned about the Maoist activities that were taking place in Nepal and the atrocities they commit," he said adding he believed that systems should change if they failed to resolve problems faced by the Country.

"Nation is not made for democracy, democracy is made for the nation. If the nation is suffering, something has to be done," he said, apparently referring to Nepal's previous elected Governments' failure to contain the insurgency.