11 politically appointed ambassadors recalled – The Himalayan Times – Nepal’s No.1 English Daily Newspaper

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 16

The government has decided to recall ambassadors from 11 countries who were appointed politically during the KP Oli-led government.

The Cabinet meeting today decided to recall Nepali ambassadors serving as Nepali resident ambassadors in China, Germany, Malaysia, Israel, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, as per Government Spokesperson Jagdish Kharel.

The decision was made to recall ambassadors from 11 countries appointed by the Oli-led government.

The recalled ambassadors are Professor Dr Krishna Prasad Oli, Nepali ambassador to China; Dr Shail Rupakheti, Nepali ambassador to Germany; and Professor Dhan Prasad Pandit, Nepali ambassador to Israel.

Similarly, Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Netra Prasad Timilsina; Nepali Ambassador to Qatar, Ramesh Chandra Paudel; Nepali Ambassador to Russia, Jung Bahadur Chauhan; Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Naresh Bikram Dhakal; Nepali Ambassador to Spain, Sunil Nepal; Nepali Ambassador to the UK, Chandra Kumar Ghimire; Nepali Ambassador to the US, Lok Darshan Regmi; and Nepali Ambassador to Japan, Durga Bahadur Subedi have been recalled, as per the spokesperson. In addition, the government has given the ambassadors until November 6 to return home.

However, the government has not recalled some of the ambassadors appointed by the Oli administration despite the fact that they were appointed based on political party agreements. They include Nepali Ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma; Ambassador to Australia, Chitralekha Yadav; Ambassador to Denmark, Sumnima Tuladhar; Ambassador to South Korea, Shivamaya Tumbahangphe; Ambassador to South Africa, Kapilman Shrestha; and Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Purna Bahadur Nepali.

Chitralekha Yadav, former deputy speaker, is affiliated with the Nepali Congress; Sumnima Tuladhar is affiliated with the CPN-UML; Kapilman Shrestha is also affiliated with the Nepali Congress, as are others with other political parties.

Meanwhile, experts have called recalling ambassadors after the change of government in Nepal an established practice and not a big event. However, they added that the government should correct errors of political appointments committed by the previous government.

“Political parties have been practising this for over 20 years, which is not a good practice. But the interim government has not recalled everyone, considering the issues of inclusivity such as representation of women and indigenous groups,” said former ambassador Vijay Kant Karna.

“The government should now have standard criteria based on skills and expertise in various sectors, such as diplomatic capacity, foreign investment and international markets, to select capable envoys to represent Nepal.”

Karna emphasised the need for the government to take further steps to correct the blunders of previous administration. “The government should act on removing the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) chief, the Public Service Commission chief and several politically appointed people who have long been exploiting the esteemed institutions,” he added.

The Special Court’s ruling in a graft case involving Nepal Airlines Corporation’s acquisition of two wide-body aircraft has sparked concerns about Prem Kumar Rai, the current head of CIAA. Rai was secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation at the time. He had also served as the chair of the NAC’s board of directors.