Another deadline in Nepal crisis
On 28 May, Nepalese lawmakers agreed to extend the drafting of a new constitution by another three months - the second such reprieve since the peace deal was signed in November 2006, ending a decade-long conflict which resulted in more than 13,000 lives lost.
Following the country’s 2008 elections, a 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA) was formed representing 26 political parties with the key task of framing a new constitution within two years.
But efforts to draw up a new constitution and ensure stability for this landlocked nation of 30 million have not proven easy.
Political infighting between the country’s three major political parties - the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) - continues, while many of Nepal’s more contentious issues - including the reintegration of thousands of Maoist ex-combatants into the country’s national security forces - remain unresolved.
So bad is the squabbling, Nepal’s aging politicians cannot even agree on what system of government to adopt or how many provinces the country should have.