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G P Koirala sworn in as Nepal's PM
Published on Sun, Apr 30, 2006 at 10:20, Updated on Sun, Apr 30, 2006 at 22:15 in 
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Kathmandu,(Nepal): Nepal's new Prime Minister took the oath of office on Sunday, taking on the challenge of keeping his political alliance together and bringing Maoist rebels into talks as he steers the troubled Himalayan country toward democracy.
King Gyanendra swore in Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the royal palace in central Kathmandu, the first time the two had come face-to-face since weeks of bloody protests, lead in part by Koirala, forced the monarch to give up complete control and reinstate parliament.
The king patted the frail-looking Koirala on his arm before issuing the oath of office in a palace hall where two stuffed tigers reared up on hind legs in the background. The guests included top military officials and the Supreme Court's chief justice. But the royal Privy Council, the king's top advisers, did not attend.
A lung ailment had repeatedly delayed the 84-year-old Koirala's inauguration, and he was accompanied to the royal palace by his doctor. Traditionally, a prime minister heads to his office after being sworn in, but Koirala went home instead, apparently to rest before addressing Parliament later in the day.
Koirala, a onetime labor organizer who is among the country's most senior politicians, was chosen prime minister because he was the most acceptable candidate among the leading seven-party alliance, political leaders have said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of those discussions.
Koirala was also expected Sunday to name ministers in his government - including representatives from all the seven main political parties that formed an alliance to protest the king's seizure of power last year.
Parliament was to discuss a number of proposals made on Koirala's behalf on Friday, when Parliament convened for the first time in four years, including a cease-fire with Maoist rebels and establishment of a special assembly to rewrite the constitution.
Koirala faces the enormous challenge of keeping the alliance together, along with trying to bring their Maoist rebel allies into talks before announcing elections to the special assembly.
Koirala's ''biggest task is to bring the Maoists on the right track,'' said Pradeep Gyawali of Communist Party of Nepal.
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