Nepal’s PM quits amid power struggle

NEPAL’S prime minister resigned yesterday amid a power struggle over his firing of the army chief, saying he was stepping down to “save the peace process” that brought the Himalayan nation out of a decade-long civil war.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla leader, made the announcement on television yesterday afternoon, one day after his firing of the army chief was rejected by President Ram Baran Yadav, who officially leads the army, and which caused some key political allies to withdraw from the ruling coalition.

“The unconstitutional and undemocratic move by the president has pushed the country toward a serious political crisis. The president has no power to act alone without prior approval of the cabinet on such matters,” Dahal said in his resignation speech.