Political as well as constitutional crisis has been further deepened in Nepal with neither Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda nor his Nepali Congress rival Ramchandra Poudyal clinched a clear win in the third round of run-off vote in Parliament on Monday to elect a new prime minister.

Parliament on Monday rejected Prachanda as new PM. Out of 581 parliamentarians presence at the meeting, he received 259 votes in favor whereas 114 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress voted against him.

Prachanda, however, managed to garner 17 more votes from the fringe Left parties in Parliament than that he had bagged previously.

Thereafter Speaker Subas Nembang tabled the name of Congress leader and prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel, whose name was also rejected by the House.

Prachanda tried his best to allure the Madhes-based parties — Madhesi Janaadhikar Fourm-Democratic, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal, Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party and Sadbhavana Party — and garner simple majority in the prime ministerial poll fray.

But the United Democratic Madhesi Front, a lose alliance of Madhes-based parties, that occupies 82 seats altogether in Parliament opted to stay neutral the poll fray again to avoid possible rift within the front.

Earlier, the top leaders of the Front had held series of parleys to deliberate on the commitment papers received from the Maoists and Nepali Congress, respectively, regarding their views on their 16-point demands and reached a conclusion that the Maoists were more positive towards their demands rather than Congress.

Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum Nepal Chairma Upendra Yadav told the media after their meeting that though the Maoists were more positive towards their demands than the Nepali Congress, they decided to stay neutral unless the Maoists clarified their views on certain contentious issues raised by Madhes-based parties.

It may be recalled that the CPN-UML, the third largest party along with 109 seats, which had forced its chairman to withdraw his candidacy from the prime ministerial poll fray on July 21 on the pretext of not securing two-third majority in 601-member Parliament, has been opting neutral stance saying that the country cannot cope with the existing problem without forming a consensus or two-third majority government.

Meanwhile, the Business Advisory Committee meeting of Parliament has slated to hold fourth round of prime ministerial poll fray on August 5.

London, August 2
As Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari prepares to commence his visit to Britain, 10 Downing Street has ruled out that Prime Minister David Cameron will back away or apologise for his remarks about Islamabad “exporting terror” as “he meant it”.

Zardari is scheduled to go ahead with his trip to Britain tomorrow and is expected to meet Cameron at his country home ‘Chequers’ on Friday. Downing Street sources said Cameron will try to assuage Pakistan anger over his remarks but will not apologise for accusing elements in Pakistan for “looking both ways” on terrorism.

A senior Downing Street source told the Daily Telegraph: “He (Cameron) stands by his comments. We are not looking to inflame the situation and we made clear that his comments were not directed at the Pakistan Government, but what he said was clear. We are glad the president’s trip is going ahead and we are looking forward to the talks.” Another source told Daily Mail that Cameron would not apologise for his outspoken remarks, adding: “No, he said it and he meant it.”

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan defended the decision to continue with the President’s visit. “You don’t give up talking just because you’re upset,” he said. “You discuss these matters. If we find that the British Prime Minister is amenable, then fine. If not, then we can consider other options.”

Hasan said that the Prime Minister’s contentious comments would be discussed during the two leaders’ meeting. “Cameron did plain talking, so the President will do plain talking.”

Zardari’s visit has been clouded by Cameron’s remarks in India about Pakistan “looking both ways” on terrorism, prompting ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha to call off his trip.

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said: “A lot of people of Pakistani origin are hugely enflamed by this. They feel the country of their origin has been criticised for no real reason other than point-scoring by David Cameron. If you’ll excuse the pun, all he’s trying to do is curry favour with the Indians.” — PTI

Peshawar/Islamabad, August 2
Relief operations in flood-hit areas of northwest Pakistan today focused on preventing waterborne diseases and rushing aid to thousands of affected people even as authorities feared the death toll in the worst floods in the region could be as high as 1,500.

Authorities have said over one million were affected by the widespread devastation. Tens of thousands of people continue to be stranded or living in the open following the destruction of entire villages in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Officials said dozens of medical teams had been dispatched to flood-hit areas to prevent the outbreak of diseases like diarrhoea and cholera.

In a related development, two Pakistan Army units and 100 personnel of the navy were deployed in the Sukkur area of Sindh province, where authorities are expecting fresh floods following the arrival of a new monsoon system. Twenty relief camps were also set up in the region.

The administration of Sukkur district imposed emergency in the area and began evacuating people from low-lying regions. Authorities ordered the immediate shifting of people living near the banks of the Indus river after the irrigation department declared many points on both banks of the river as vulnerable.

Floods in the Sindh river inundated several villages in Katcha area though there were no reports of casualties. The water level was also rising at the Sukkur Barrage, officials said.

They added that over 800,000 cusecs of water is expected to reach the Guddu Barrage on August 4. In Punjab province, authorities began evacuating the residents of 102 villages .

District administration chief Iftikhar Rasool said 27,700 people had already been shifted to safer places and 25 relief camps had been set up.

Officials also said 700,000 cusecs of water was flowing in the Indus river in Rahim Yar Khan district and the level was expected to rise to 900,000 cusecs during the next 24 hours.

Though the flood situation in the district was "normal", the district administration has made necessary arrangements to cope with any emergency, officials said. — PTI