"The parliament must be reinstated by the king which will activate the constitution and, after that, an all-party government can be formed which will tackle the Maoist problem," Koirala said Saturday morning at the first press conference after his release Friday evening.

Koirala, 82, was one of hundreds of political leaders and activists held since February 1 when Gyanendra sacked the government and declared emergency rule in the Himalayan nation to tackle a Maoist insurgency that has killed more than 11,000 people since 1996.

Koirala, leader of the Nepali Congress party, was among 83 people freed Friday in the Kathmandu Valley. Gyanendra has released other senior politicians held under house arrest including former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in early March.

Koirala's release came on the eve of the start of an 11-day nationwide general strike called by the Maoists to shut of supplies to the capital.

Koirala said the king should reverse his decision to sack the government and accept a role as constitutional monarch as outlined in a constitution passed in 1991. He said the current government is illegal.

"Now what we want is a complete democracy," Koirala told reporters. "What I mean by complete democracy is that the king should remain as a constitutional head only and nothing else," he said

Meanwhile, Maoist rebels bombed two bridges and blocked traffic on a major highway in western Nepal yesterday at the start of a nationwide strike to protest King Gyanendra's takover two months ago.

No one was injured in the explosions, but traffic was blocked along the Mahendra Highway that links the country to its major trading partner India in far western Nepal, said a security source requesting anonymity.