KATHMANDU, July 6: The process for appointing ambassadors, recommended two weeks ago, has been halted. Despite the government's recommendation of eight individuals for ambassadorial positions in eight countries, the appointments have not been registered at the Parliament Secretariat, leading to uncertainty about their appointment.
On June 21, the cabinet recommended the appointment of ambassadors to eight different countries. At that time, the coalition government included the CPN-UML, Maoist Center, and other parties. However, this alliance has since broken down, with the UML withdrawing its support and leaving the government.
Although the government is now in the minority, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has not resigned. The ambassador appointment process, initiated while the UML was part of the government, has not moved forward.
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General Secretary at Parliament Secretariat and Secretary at the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, Padam Prasad Pandey, confirmed that the proposal to appoint ambassadors had not been registered with the Parliament Secretariat as of Friday.
"The government has not yet registered the ambassador's recommendation proposal in the Parliament Secretariat," said Pandey. "Since the proposal has not been registered, it has not been brought to the parliamentary hearing committee."
Pandey explained that after the cabinet decides to recommend ambassadors, the government must first register the recommendation with the Parliament Secretariat. The Secretariat then forwards the proposal to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, which publicly calls for complaints against the recommended individuals.
Prakash Adhikari, a member of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, also confirmed that the ambassador recommendation process had not advanced within the committee. "We do not know if the ambassador's recommendation has been registered in the Parliament Secretariat," Adhikari said.
The individuals recommended for ambassadorial appointments were: Bijan Pant for South Korea, Sumnima Tuladhar for Denmark, Pushpa Raj Ranjitkar for Spain, Netra Prasad Timalsina for Malaysia and Abu Sufyan Khan Muslim for Saudi Arabia. Sushil Pyakurel, who was recommended for South Korea, declined the ambassadorial post. At that time, the ambassador recommendations were based on the shares of the then ruling UML and Maoist Center.
