Former Nepal PM Sushil Koirala dies
Former Nepal prime minister Sushil Koirala, a veteran politician once jailed for helping to hijack a plane, died in Kathmandu Tuesday aged 77 after suffering from pneumonia, his doctor said.
Koirala, premier for 20 months until last October, played a pivotal role in drafting a controversial new constitution aimed at unifying the impoverished country following the end in 2006 of a decade-long Maoist insurgency.
Hundreds of tearful officials, ministers and opposition party lawmakers converged at Koirala's house and at the Nepali Congress office to pay their respects.
"He made an extraordinary contribution to Nepali politics," Nepal's Prime Minister Oli told reporters.
"All Nepalis will remember his role in promulgating a constitution (and) establishing a federal democratic republic," he said.
Koirala had a strong links with lawmakers in neighbouring India. Koirala was born in 1939 in eastern Nepal, but his family fled to India in 1960 after the then-king suspended democracy and jailed dozens.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Koirala, describing him as "a big leader who served Nepal for decades".
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