Despite opposition from within his party, Nepals Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal reshuffled his cabinet, appointing new Maoist ministers late on Monday. He also declared that if there was no progress in the peace process by August 13, he would step down from office. As a part of their internal power-sharing deal, the Maoists had decided to send new ministers to the government last week. The main opposition, Nepali Congress, however had warned the Prime Minister not to swear in the new ministers. Instead, it asked for his resignation as per the five point agreement signed between the major parties when the Constituent Assembly was extended in May. The standing committee of the Mr. Khanals party, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) too decided to oppose the cabinet reshuffle and instructed him not to accept the Maoist demand. Mr. Khanal, however, argued that appointing ministers was his prerogative.