Nepali political parties were holding meetings Friday afternoon in the capital of Kathmandu over the formation of the Interim Government.

Attending the meeting at the prime minister's official residence in Kathmandu were Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala of the Nepali Congress, Madhav Kumar Nepal, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (the Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) and Prachanda, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) ( CPN-M).

At the same time, the task force consisting of members from the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and CPN-M was also holding meeting at the prime minister's residence.

Party leaders had agreed Thursday to form the Interim Government or Interim Cabinet on Friday before Koirala was leaving for the Indian capital of New Delhi to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, which will be held from April 3.

As per the agreement reached between SPA and CPN-M on Nov. 8, 2006, the Interim Constitution should be completed by Nov. 21, 2006 and promulgated by Nov. 26, 2006, and the Interim cabinet should be formed by Dec. 1, 2006.

However, the Interim Constitution was promulgated on Jan. 15, 2007 and the formation of the Interim Government was also delayed.

Source: Xinhua