Annan yesterday also urged India to sign an international treaty banning nuclear testing and support another that puts a cap on the production of fissile material needed for making atomic weapons.

In a public speech in New Delhi, Annan said he was pleased the international community had managed to successfully conclude a convention on nuclear terrorism earlier this month.

"I hope India will set an example by rapidly adhering to that convention, and will also soon sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as giving active support to the negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty," Annan said.The convention on nuclear terrorism adopted by the UN General Assembly on April 13 gives legal definitions to virtually all varieties of potential terrorist acts.

Adopted by consensus after seven years of negotiation, it was added to 12 existing anti-terror measures.

Talking on restoring democracy in Nepal, he also said it was up to individual countries to decide whether to resume arms shipments to Nepal, racked by an increasingly bloody Maoist insurgency.

"The UN and myself would want to see a return to constitutional rule as soon as possible," Annan told a news conference. "I think it's important that political parties are allowed to resume their activities."

"I made it clear to the king", said Annan, who noted he had spoken to Gyanendra again after they first met on the sidelines of an international summit last week in Jakarta.

"From my discussions with the king, I hope this will come," he said.

Annan's comments came after Nepal police arrested ousted premier Sher Bahadur Deuba before dawn Wednesday for refusing to appear before a commission to answer corruption charges.

Deuba was the most senior politician arrested by the commission since it was set up by King Gyanendra after he grabbed power on February 1 in a move he said was necessary to end a nearly decade-long Maoist revolt.

Police also arrested five mainstream party activists.

The wave of arrests came amid uncertainty over whether giant neighbour India would resume military shipments to poverty-stricken Nepal's ill-equipped army that were suspended after Gyanendra's power seizure.

Annan said the United Nations discourages arms sales to conflict zones but "of course sometimes legitimate authorities need arms for law and order."

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Thursday the world body would offer Myanmar's military junta any help it needed to move towards democracy.

Annan, ending a four-day trip to India, also said he urged Myanmar leader General Than Shwe to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting at an international summit in Jakarta that wrapped up over the weekend.

"I also encouraged the general to open up and allow the (opposition) NLD (the National League for Democracy) to play a political role," Annan told reporters in New Delhi.