United Nations, Jan 31 (IANS): The UN has expressed concern over Nepal's deadlock in drafting a new constitution and Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called on the nation's leaders to continue their dialogue, according to his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

He told reporters here Friday that Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jens Toyberg-Frandzen "expressed the UN's increasing concern about the diminishing momentum for inclusive negotiation on the new constitution to be adopted by consensus."

Adopting the new constitution is a vital element of the 2006 peace agreement that ended a Maoist insurgency. As the January 22 midnight deadline drew for drafting a new constitution, a brawl broke out in Nepal's parliament and it was adjourned by Speaker Subash Nembang.

Dujarric said that at the Secretariat's initiative, Toyberg-Frandzen briefed the Security Council Thursday on the Nepal situation during closed-door consultations originally convened on other topics.

He said that Toyberg-Frandzen reiterated Ban's "call for Nepali leaders to continue dialogue in a spirit of flexibility and urgency" and emphasized that the new constitution "should enjoy wide support of the people" because of its importance to the peace process.