Newspapers in India say New Delhi has decided to resume military aid to Nepal suspended three weeks after King Gyanendra seized absolute power on February 1st.
The reports say India's change in stance came during a meeting Saturday between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Nepalese monarch during the Asia-Africa summit in Indonesia. The reports quote an Indian official as saying a consignment of arms to the Royal Nepalese Army will be delivered "very soon."
The king is quoted as telling Mr. Singh that democracy in the Himalayan kingdom will be restored "in due course." Nepal depends on outside help to fight Maoist rebels who want to replace the constitutional monarchy with a communist state. The nine-year insurgency has claimed more than 11,000 lives.