Victim familes to get Rs 1 million each
Canadian govt to be asked for official statement on attack
KATHMANDU, June 23: Following the Afghanistan bomb attack which killed 13 Nepali citizens, the government has imposed a ban on employment for Nepali workers in the four conflict-ravaged countries of Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Iraq.
A cabinet meeting held at Baluwatar Thursday decided not to issue any kind of work permit to Nepali nationals in any of the four countries for the time being.
"Until the government takes another decision on the matter, Nepali workers will not be allowed to work in the four countries," Minister for Information and Communications Sher Dhan Rai said.
Iraq: American troops leaving Syria cannot stay in Iraq
Likewise, the cabinet has decided to immediately hold talks with the Afghanistan government to seek guarantees for the security of Nepali workers still in that country.
"The meeting has also decided to make necessary arrangements to bring back Nepali nationals from Afghanistan who want to return home in the wake of the bomb attack," said Minister Rai.
According to Tourism Minister Ananda Pokharel, over 20,000 Nepalis may be working in Afghanistan both legally and illegally. Government records show that it has issued permits to over 8,889 Nepalis to work as security guards in Afghanistan.
"The government has also decided to ask the Afghanistan government to immediately investigate the attack and make the details public," said Minister Rai, who is the spokesperson of the government.
Likewise, the government has decided to ask the Canadian government for its official statement about the attack. The Canadian government has not issued any statement so far.
As many as 24 Nepalis, who returned to Nepal on Thursday along with the bodies of 12 of those killed in the attack, said the embassy had intelligence reports about the attack but did not caution them. As many as 147 Nepali security guards were providing security at the Canadian embassy in Kabul.
"The cabinet meeting also decided to provide Rs 1 million each to the families of the 13 Nepalis killed in the attack," Minister Rai said, adding that the government will cover the medical expense of six other Nepalis, who were injured in the attack. The injured are currently undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in India.
Meanwhile, the cabinet meeting has appointed former deputy governer Maha Prasad Adhikari as chief executive officer of the Investment Board Nepal. He has been appointed to the position for the next four years.
Likewise, the cabinet has decided to scrap the Nepali citizenship of two Indians--Aashik Chattarji and Mohan Pandey. While Chattarji had taken Nepali citizenship from Banke district, Pandey had done so from Parsa.
"The cabinet has decided to take legal action against the officials issuing recommendations for citizenship for the two Indians," Minister Rai informed.
