KATHMANDU: Nepal’s premier blocked a planned vacation by King Gyanendra in the south of the country to avoid any trouble between supporters and opponents of the monarchy, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said he had learned of “increasing activities of reactionary forces”, according to the Nepali-language daily newspaper Kantipur.

“I had talks with the king, I felt there could be some accident, so I stopped him from visiting,” Koirala was quoted as saying.

The term “reactionary forces” has been used in the past to refer to King Gyanendra and his supporters.

Gyanendra and Queen Komal had planned to visit the Kanti Ishwori Palace at Hetauda, 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Kathmandu, and his supporters were preparing a big welcome for him, the newspaper said.

The royal couple have been under pressure from the interim government to keep a low profile following a peace deal with the anti-monarchist Maoist rebels.

The government and Maoists finalised an interim constitution this month, transferring Gyanendra’s role as head of state to the prime minister until at least mid-2007 and paving the way for the rebels to join the government.

The monarch, traditionally revered as the incarnation of a Hindu god, seized power in 2005.

In May, he was stripped of control of the army after mass protests against his 14 months of direct rule.

The once high-profile king has virtually disappeared from public view in recent months.—AFP