Kathmandu, Aug 11 (IANS): Nepal's major political parties on Tuesday agreed to reconsider the delineation of states in the wake of countrywide protests against the move in which three people have been killed.

Nepal's four major political parties -- Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (MJF-L) -- on Saturday night came up with a six-province model in the new federal set up, a key contentions issue of Nepal's constitution-making process that started in 2008 when the first Constituent Assembly was elected.

If the issue of state restructuring will resolve the ossue, Nepal will ensure a new constitution and there will be a new president, vice president, prime minister and other major political posts, sources said.

At a press conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon, the political parties appealed for calm after violent protests erupted in the western region of the country against the proposed six-state federal set-up. The leaders have urged the people to call-off their protest programmes.

The decision to federate the country into six provinces with tentative demarcation of borders sparked protests in various parts of the country. Three people were killed and over half a dozen injured in violence that broke out in Surkhet district in mid-western Nepal.

Present at the conference were Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal, UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and MJF-L chairman Bijayakumar Gachhadar.