Thursday, July 20 2006 18:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: A second round of high-level talks between the top leaders of the ruling multi-party alliance and Maoists in Nepal, which were slated for tomorrow,have been postponed due to lack of preparation.

The meeting has been postponed for a few days as the seven-party alliance (SPA) needs to do more homework before sitting for dialogue, said Nepali Congress General Secretary Ramchandra Poudyal.

The Maoist chief Prachanda, number two rebel leader Baburam Bhattarai and top leaders of Nepal's ruling alliance were scheduled to attend the high-level meeting.

The meeting was expected to mainly focus on issues relating to Maoists' arms management, drafting of interim Constitution, formation of an interim government with the inclusion of the rebels and holding of the Constituent assembly elections, a member of the government's negotiation team said.

The Peace Committee headed by Poudyal has been entrusted with the responsibility to prepare agenda for the next round of meeting.

The SPA has decided to engage in an extensive homework on the agenda before sitting for next talks. The decision to defer the talks date for more homework was taken following severe criticism of the government's talks team by small political parties for not doing enough preparation.

Meanwhile, a source close to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said that Koirala would not participate in the next round of high-level talks due to health reasons.

84-year-old Koirala would not be present during the next meeting between Maoists and the seven parties, said Shekhar Koirala, nephew of the Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) Central member.

Koirala is presently undergoing treatment at the Prime Minister's Quarter after being discharged from hospital.