By Our Reporter
The government’s decision to recall 11 ambassadors appointed about a year ago when the Nepali Congress was a key coalition partner in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government has sparked criticism.
It is said that the government decided to recall the ambassadors at the instruction of UML chair KP Sharma Oli.
Ironically, the Cabinet decided to call back the envoys just a day before Prime Minister Dahal was to fly to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Dahal also admitted that recalling the envoys just a day before he was to attend the swearing-in ceremony was not a good decision. He said this upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport from India on Monday.
Dr. Shanker Sharma, ambassador of Nepal to India, was one of the 11 ambassadors recalled by the government.
The recalled Ambassadors included Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma (India), Gyan Chandra Acharya (UK), Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal (Spain), Ram Rai (Denmark), Prof. Shreedhar Khatri (USA), Kanta Rijal (Israel), Prof. Dr. Jyoti Pyakurel (South Korea), Navaraj Subedi (Saudi Arabia), Naresh Bikram Dhakal (Qatar) and Dilliraj Paudel (Malaysia).
The way the government appoints and recalls the ambassadors clearly shows how partisan politics has spoiled our foreign policy over the years. The government or the coalition partners change every six months and the ambassadors appointed in political quotas also get changed. This practice of sharing posts of the ambassadors by the ruling parties has badly spoiled the diplomatic image of Nepal internationally. Moreover, this has resulted in the weak diplomatic position of Nepal in the international arena. And this will continue until the government stops appointing the envoys by dividing them among the ruling parties.
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