03 January 2004	Saturday	10 Ziqa'ad 1424

KATHMANDU, Jan 2: The closest aide to Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa of Nepal was sacked on Friday from his leadership role in the party, in a sign of more political tumult in the Himalayan kingdom.

Information Minister Kamal Thapa was removed as general secretary of the right-leaning National Democratic Party, said the party president, Pashupati Rana, who has repeatedly called for the prime minister to step down.

Kamal Thapa, who is not related to the prime minister, said in a statement that he would challenge his removal as he was selected by the party. The information minister has been the leading defender of Prime Minister Thapa against calls from within the party that he resign for failing to end a political standoff with the kingdom's major parties.

A five-party alliance refuses to recognise the government because it was appointed by King Gyanendra, who dismissed the elected prime minister for "incompetence" in 2002.

The alliance has held months of protests against the king and the government and has rejected Prime Minister Thapa's calls for reconciliation. The new divisions within his party will present yet another political problem for the prime minister.-AFP