Nepal, Aug. 12 -- Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is returning to Nepal on Thursday, five months after leaving for Singapore, with his faction of the Nepali Congress preparing a rousing welcome for him.

But his return raises more questions than it answers. Deuba left Nepal for Singapore on February 25, saying he was travelling for a medical check-up. He is now returning from Hong Kong, where he is believed to have stayed for part of his prolonged absence from Nepal. His close aide Bhanu Deuba confirmed that Deuba will arrive in Kathmandu at 12:25 pm on Thursday via Bangkok.

The circumstances of his five-month stay abroad remain largely unexplained.

It is unclear when Deuba, his wife Arzu Rana and their son Jaybir moved from Si...