By Our Reporter
The ruling parties have divided the posts of the eight ambassadors among them, which will put
the country’s foreign policy in the doldrums.
Of the eight ambassadors recommended by the government on Friday last week, the CPN-UML has received the biggest share.
Earlier on June 6, the government decided to recall 11 ambassadors appointed earlier, and the recalled ambassadors were appointed by the government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2021.
Of the eight recommended ambassadors, Sushil Pyakurel who was named as ambassador to Korea in the UML quota, has rejected the position.
The recommended ambassadors include former Chief Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi (India), former Secretary Chandra Ghimire (United States of America), Dr. Bijan Pant (the United Kingdom), Sumnima Tuladhar (Denmark), Pushpa Raj Ranjitkar (Spain), Netra Prasad Timalsina (Malaysia) and Abusufyan Musalman (Saudi Arabia).
Regmi, who previously served as Nepal’s envoy to the United Kingdom from March 2021 to October of the same year, was among those recalled by the Deuba government in 2021. Regmi was chief secretary from October 2017 to September 2020.
Similarly, former Commerce and Industry Secretary Chandra Ghimire has replaced Sridhar Khatri of the USA. Khatri was appointed in NC’s quota while Ghimire is picked from the CPN (UML).
Likewise, Bijan Pant has been named Nepal’s new ambassador to the United Kingdom in the quota of the Maoist Centre. Pant previously served as a social development adviser to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and as an advisor to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) until recently. He is picked from the Maoist Centre.
Likewise, Sumnima Tuladhar, a noted child rights activist and Executive Director of Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), is the daughter of the late Padma Ratna Tuladhar.
In May 2021, the then KP Oli government had nominated 11 ambassadors, including Tuladhar, for Australia. But, just a month after their nominations, in June, Oli was unseated by Deuba, who swiftly revoked those nominations.
Similarly, Pushpa Raj Rajkarnikar has replaced Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal in Spain. Rajkarnikar has been nominated by the Ashok Rai-led Janata Samajbadi Party faction.
In Malaysia, Netra Prasad Timilsina, a long-time NGO activist, has been nominated under the quota of the CPN-UML. He was recently active in organising the World Social Forum in Kathmandu. Timilsina will replace Dillraj Poudel, who was appointed envoy under the quota of the CPN (Unified Socialist).
Similarly, Absuman Khan of Banke district has been named to serve as Nepal’s envoy to Saudi Arabia under the quota of the Janata Samajbadi Party faction led by Ashok Rai.
Meanwhile, a few envoy nominations under the quota of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the UML have yet to be made.
The way the political parties appoint their men as ambassadors has not only weakened Nepal’s diplomatic power but also has made the post of ambassadors so chief that the party presidents/chairmen could pick any of their yes men as ambassadors representing Nepal abroad.
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