Nepali King Gyanendra Bir BikramShah Dev on Thursday afternoon postponed his pre-scheduled 11-day official visit to India for an indefinite period due to the suddendemise of former Indian Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, said the Principal Press Secretariat of the Royal Palace.

King Gyanendra had planned to pay the visit from Dec. 23, 2004 to Jan. 2, 2005 at the invitation of Indian President A.P.J. AbdulKalam, the secretariat said in a press communique.

Earlier at Thursday noon, the secretariat had issued another press communique saying the king would leave Kathmandu for New Delhi at 3:00 p.m. local time (0915GMT).

However, after hearing of the demise of Rao on Thursday afternoon, King Gyanendra decided to postpone his visit, because he considered it is not suitable for him to visit India as the Indian government is planning a funeral for Rao, the latest communique said.

The future date of King Gyanendra's official visit will be decided only after consultations between the Nepali and Indian governments, it added.

Source: Xinhua