Kathmandu, Aug. 5: The formation of the Nepal government was delayed once again after the four major parties appealed to President Ram Baran Yadav to give them more time.

Top leaders of the four parties, the Maoists, the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, met here this evening and decided that they needed more time to iron out their differences. Yadav had set a week-long deadline for the formation of the government.

“We have decided to ask the President to extend his deadline for government formation by three more days,” Nepal Congress leader Ramchandra Poudel said. He added that they also decided to form a task force to draft a common minimum programme.