KATHMANDU, May 28: The chief of Nepal’s army said on Sunday the military would accept the orders of the new government, his first comments since parliament curbed King Gyanendra’s powers including his control over the armed forces.

General Pyar Jung Thapa said troops were committed to democracy in the Himalayan nation where King Gyanendra gave in to violent popular protests in April, handed power back to political parties and reinstated parliament dissolved in 2002.

The parliament moved fast this month to curb the king’s powers, take control of the army and strip the monarch of his title of supreme-commander-in-chief.

“The Nepalese Army is committed to follow the directives of the government,” an army statement quoted Gen Thapa as saying in an address to trainees at the army’s Command and Staff College.

The parliament also changed the name of the Royal Nepalese Army to the Nepalese Army.

Gen Thapa said the 90,000-strong army was engaged in “consolidating multi-party democracy and promoting national prosperity by maintaining peace”.—Reuters