Kathmandu, May 20: Nepal Medical Council has withdrawn its decision to cancel the licenses of non-resident Nepali doctors after facing strong criticism from medical groups and diaspora organizations.
The council’s full meeting on May 12 had decided to remove 36 doctors from its registry. The move targeted Nepali-origin doctors who had renounced Nepali citizenship and obtained foreign passports. It cited existing medical and citizenship laws as the basis for the decision.
The decision has now been suspended. Acting registrar Dipendra Pandey said the council reconsidered after finding that earlier related decisions had not been endorsed by a full meeting. He said non-resident Nepali doctors around the world will now be invited to register under a separate category.
The earlier move had created confusion and concern among Nepali-origin doctors abroad. A license cancellation by a medical regulator can damage a doctor’s professional standing internationally, as it is usually linked to malpractice or serious misconduct. Some doctors, however, had voluntarily asked to be removed from the registry.
The council faced immediate backlash. The Non-Resident Nepali Association objected strongly and warned of legal action if the decision was not reversed. Its general secretary, Chiranjeevi Khadka, welcomed the suspension. The American Nepal Medical Foundation also criticized the move, saying citizenship should not determine professional recognition.
Under Nepali law, a medical license can be revoked mainly for serious malpractice, fake certificates, major ethical violations, criminal involvement, or mental incapacity. It is not normally cancelled simply because a doctor changes citizenship, a detail the council seemed to discover after creating unnecessary panic.
The controversy has sparked wider debate in Nepal over citizenship, professional rights, and how the country can better use the skills of Nepali doctors living abroad.
· People’s News Monitoring Service
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