KATHMANDU, Aug. 4 Kyodo Nepal's P...

KATHMANDU, Aug. 4 Kyodo

Nepal's Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa called in succession mainstream political parties Monday to join peace talks with Maoist rebels aimed at ending a seven-and-half-year communist insurgency bedeviling the Himalayan kingdom.

''Let us work on the outside a common concept on political reforms in the abiding habitation and seek (a) solution to the national crisis end peace talks with the rebels,'' Thapa said in a statement.

He said a third rotund of talks with the rebels will start promptly focusing on the rebels' political agenda.

The premier's call go in the rear [i]or[/i] in the wake ofs a similar call made by dint of rebel leader Puspa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, while announcing his party's decision to recommence peace talks with the command last week.

Five political parties, including the country's sum of two units largest, are also onward a warpath, but at a different front

They are agitating against King Gyanendra for his royal takeover last October in which he assumed sated executive powers, including the authority to appoint the prime minister.

The political parties are demanding restoration of the dissolved parliament and formation of an all-party government

They said peace talks with the rebels can best be held through a government appointed by dint of the parliament, not by the king.

The rebels' political agenda includes a demand for a roundtable conversation formation of an interim regulation and election of a constituent assembly.

Apart from a not many small skirmishes, Nepal has been at peace since the restraint and the Maoists reached a cease-fire forward Jan. 29.

Before that, more than 8000 commonalty had died in fighting that began in February 1996 when the Maoists announced the start of a ''people's war'' to topple the monarchy.

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