JHAPA: CPN-UML general secretary Jhalanath Khanal today warned that the nation would face a greater disaster if the statute was not drafted within nine months.

Addressing the party's district conference here, Khanal said, "All political parties have to fulfill their duties to help the country tide over the transitional phase." He added that constitutional writing was one of the five most important tasks before the parties.

"Failure to draft the statute in the given time frame will question the existence of political parties," he said, adding that taking the peace process to a logical conclusion was the second priority, which, he sensed, had been hit due to the parties' incompetence. Scientific restructuring of the state, its economic transformation and strengthening national unity were other priorities.

He defended the UML leadership of the government saying that the larger parties -- Nepali Congress and Unified CPN-Maoist -- had failed to lead the country.