{JURIST] Nepal's foreign minister said Thursday that King Gyanendra would soon lift the civil liberties restrictions imposed last month after he declared a state of emergency [JURIST report], dismissed the government, and seized power himself in a bid to stabilize a country plagued by an ongoing Maoist rebellion. Speaking in the capital Kathmandu, Ramesh Nath Pandey offered no firm timetable for the restoration of rights, however. His statement came a day after Nepalese authorities announced the release of eight people taken into custody under the state of emergency, including a junior foreign minister in the former government. About two dozen other prisoners had been released earlier; several former government leaders remain under house arrest, and hundreds are said to be be still in detention, although the exact number of detainees is unknown. Reuters has more.