Tapendra Karki

The APF was born out of necessity during the armed rebellion initiated by the then CPN (Maoist) in 1996. As the insurgency intensified, the Nepal Police struggled to maintain law and order and officers were increasingly targeted by rebels—underscoring the need for a paramilitary force.

According to local governance experts, resigning midway without completing that term amounts to deceiving the electorate and undermining the public mandate.

According to Election Commission Spokesperson Narayan Bhattarai, a total of 2,925 candidates registered their candidacies for the 165 first-past-the-post seats.

The party leadership has sidelined central leaders who backed Ishwar Pokhrel—Oli’s rival for the party chair—while selecting candidates for direct elections.

The CIAA has moved the Supreme Court seeking the annulment of Special Court orders that granted nominal bail and regular attendance to defendants in the Rs 8.36 billion PRIA corruption case, arguing the decisions undermine justice and weaken prosecution.

The government’s move to withdraw money laundering and organised crime cases against Rabi Lamichhane has alarmed legal experts, who warn that a person-centric approach could weaken similar prosecutions nationwide and pose a serious threat to the rule of law.

The assessment emerged from a series of province-level security coordination meetings held by the MoHA across the country. The final meeting, held in Madhesh Province on Tuesday, brought the nationwide review process to a close.

Their call for a “reformed Nepali Congress” drew visible momentum as around 30 central committee (CC) members who had previously broken ranks with the establishment faction joined the convention.

The Central Committee meeting began on Saturday as the government pushes to hold elections, coinciding with the Nepali Congress’s special general convention starting Sunday. During the meeting, UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli described democracy as being in crisis. 

Through the 33-page Inter-Party Directive–1 (Circular), which outlines the party’s internal direction and future course, UML committees have been told to prepare for protests should elections fail to take place.