Kathmandu: The United States has expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in Nepal and underlined the need for fixing the date for the crucial constituent assembly polls at the earliest.

Nancy J. Powell, the US ambassador to Nepal, urged Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, to fix the election date at the earliest. She expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation and urged the Nepalese leader to hold the elections at the earliest to end the transitional phase in the country.

She told the Prime Minister that the US was willing to provide assistance in the smooth conduct of the key assembly polls that would form a body to frame a new constitution and decide the fate of the 238-year old monarchy in the Himalayan state. Nepal's seven party alliance government has tentatively decided to hold the twice-postponed polls by mid-April though no date has yet been fixed.

Koirala told the envoy that the government is committed to hold the polls by mid-April and a fresh date for it would be fixed by next week, according to sources close to the prime Minister. The ambassador also urged the leader of the Nepali Congress to help the US in the resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees residing at various camps in the eastern part of the country.

She said 220 Bhutanese refugees would be resettled soon in US cities as part of the first phase of the process. The US has agreed to resettle 60,000 of the 1.7 lakh refugees staying in various camps in the Himalayan state. 

Source : PTI