AFP/Kathmandu
Nepal’s last king, Gyanendra Shah, was in a stable condition in a Kathmandu hospital yesterday after suffering a heart attack, his doctor said.
Gyanendra, 67, was rushed to Kathmandu’s Norvic Hospital late on Saturday after he complained of chest pain.
“There was a 100% blockage in his left artery and we performed a procedure last night to open the obstruction,” the former king’s doctor and director of the hospital, Bharat Rawat, said.
Rawat said the former king was recovering well and could be discharged as early as tomorrow.
Dozens of well-wishers crowded into the hospital’s grounds upon hearing the news.
Gyanendra has kept a low profile since stepping down from the throne in June 2008 when the country’s parliament voted to abolish Nepal’s monarchy, transforming the Himalayan nation into a
secular republic.
The former king has largely confined himself to his hunting lodge on the outskirts of
Kathmandu.
Gyanendra came to the throne in 2001 after a palace massacre in which his nephew, the then crown prince, gunned down most of the royal family — including the king and queen — before shooting himself.
Gyanendra became deeply unpopular when he seized direct control of the nation in 2005, claiming mainstream parties had failed to tackle the deadly Maoist insurgency.
The takeover pushed political parties and rebel Maoists into an alliance that eventually led to the fall of the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy.
A huge crowd and Gyanendra’s well-wishers yesterday gathered outside the hospital.
The pro-royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party has called upon its party leaders and cadres to offer their best wishes to Shah.