The Nepalese government's plans to extend a state of emergency have come under threat amid opposition to the move from a dissident faction within the ruling party.

The government has failed to get the approval of the party

Shiv Kumar Basnet, Dissident MP

A parliamentary session is due to vote later this week on the government's motion to extend emergency rule by six months to fight a bloody Maoist insurgency.

But the dissident faction, which controls half of the ruling Nepali Congress, has accused Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of not consulting the party before deciding to push for an extension.

Mr Deuba also failed last week to gain the required support of opposition parties for the move.

The government declared the state of emergency in November after Maoist rebels withdrew from peace talks and resumed attacks on government installations.

Vital support

The main opposition United Marxist-Leninist (UML) party and the dissident ruling party faction have not yet said if they will vote against the government.

Deuba needs the support of his own party and the opposition

But the fate of the extension to emergency rule, which expires next Saturday, hangs in the balance.

Extending the emergency requires a two-thirds majority in the 205-seat parliament and, with only 113 seats held by the ruling party, support from both the opposition and his own party is crucial to Mr Deuba's objectives.

"The government has failed to get the approval of the party before moving ahead with the proposal," dissident MP Shiv Kumar Basnet told the Associated Press.

"Prime Minister Deuba has violated party discipline by stepping over the party's authorities," the news agency quoted him as saying.

The dissident faction gathers supporters of Mr Deuba's predecessor, Girija Prasad Koirala.

The government says that an extension of the emergency would yield further progress in the military operation against the Maoists, which it says has been going well in the past six months.

Intense criticism

Critics insist that existing anti-terrorism laws are enough to crack down on the Maoist rebels, who have launched their heaviest attacks yet in recent months.

They have also accused the government of abusing its emergency powers in an attempt to derail the country's young democracy.

Critics say the army is pressuring the government

Opposition leaders have said that simply continuing the emergency, which has given the government sweeping powers and seen many civil liberties suspended, would not resolve the bloody conflict.

The prime minister has also been accused of succumbing to pressure from the police and army, which has said in the past that it will not deploy against the rebels if there is no state of emergency.

The government has in turn accused the opposition of trying to make political capital out of the crisis.

Mr Deuba is also banking on broad international support for what he has described as Nepal's own war against terrorism.

A number of countries, including the United States, Britain and neighbouring India, have pledged economic and military assistance.

A senior minister said that the government remains confident of passing the motion in parliament.