Three months after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘ Prachanda ended his alliance with the party and joined hands with KP Sharma Oli, the Nepali government has recalled ambassadors from 11 nations, including those serving in India and the US. The authorities on Thursday recalled these ministers, including Nepal’s minister to India Shankar Sharma, despite the strong reservations made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha, according to The Kathmandu Post paper.
This comes back of Prime Minister Prachanda’s possible trip to New Delhi on Sunday to see the swearing-in meeting of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many officials from the foreign ministry told the paper that this action sends a very indelicate message.
Foreign Minister Shrestha reportedly opposed the idea to appoint new ambassadors for the Nepali Congress and different functions, but premier Dahal and CPN-ULL Chairman Oli made the unilateral decision to do so, according to a minister in a statement to the report.
According to reports, Foreign Minister Shrestha apparently instructed Dahal and Oli not to call all 11 delegations because some of them’s performances were positive. According to reports, Dahal and Oli allegedly put pressure on Shrestha to agree to the move, which the Cabinet afterward ruled against.
The Cabinet had approved the decision without much debate, despite the claim that it was to be made by the foreign government. According to sources, Shrestha also objected to the selection at the Cabinet meet.
The recalled ambassadors are Sharma ( India ), Sridhar Khatri ( USA ), Gyan Chandra Acharya ( United Kingdom ) and Jyoti Pyakurel Bhandari ( South Korea ). When party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba assumed the presidency in 2021, they were appointed according to the limits alloted to the Nepali Congress. Sharma, Acharya and Khatri were recommended diplomats in October, 2021.
Other ambassadors whose terms were cut short are Naresh Bikram Dhakal ( Qatar ), Nawaraj Subedi ( Saudi Arabia ), Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal ( Spain ), Ram Swartha Ray Yadav ( Denmark ), Kanta Rizal ( Israel ), Dilliraj Poudel ( Malaysia ) and Salin Nepal ( Portugal ).
Before the party left the Dahal-led authorities in March, Dhakal, Rizal, and Nepal were likewise appointed to the Congress limit. The Janata Samajbadi Party made the recommendation for Subedi and Yadav. Dhakal was appointed in the quota for the Maoist Centre ( Prakchanda-led CPN), but sources claimed that her influence in the party was subpar. Poudel was chosen as a CPN ( Unified Socialist ), but he had no way to maintain a friendly relationship with Labour Minister D P Aryal.
The ambassadors have been given three to four weeks to profit, according to a secretary.
