Nepal Scrambles to Evacuate Nepalis from Afghanistan
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WI THOUT F EAR O R F A V O U R Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXIX No. 180 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 34.5 C 14.0 C Tuesday, August 17, 2021 | 01-05-2078 Nepalgunj Jomsom Opposition lashes out at the government for proroguing Parliament After failing to give business to the House, the Deuba administration, which is unsure of its strength to pass bills, has ended the session that started a month ago. TIKA R PRADHAN related to deterrence for acid attacks KATHMANDU, AUG 16 and punishment and another on vio- lence against women. After the Supreme Court reinstated Deuba was reluctant to present any the House of Representatives on bills in the House because the coali- February 23, terming its dissolution tion government–of Nepali Congress, on December 20, 2020 unconstitution- Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist al, its sessions were limited to endors- Centre) and Janata Samajbadi Party– ing condolence motions on the demise was unsure of its strength in the of incumbent and former lawmakers. House, according to analysts. The then KP Sharma Oli govern- “If the rulers think they have no ment did not give it any business to majority, they better go for elections,” discuss bills and make laws and for Subedi told the Post. this the prime minister faced much With only the support of the 61 law- criticism. The House was then pro- makers from the Nepali Congress, 49 rogued after 44 days, a week before the from the Maoist Centre and some 20 budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 was from the Janata Samajbadi Party to due to be presented. count on, the government would have Now, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur fallen short of reaching 136 lawmak- Deuba has followed suit. ers required for a majority. On the recommendation of his During the 29 days of the House Cabinet, President Bidya Devi session, the only business of note it Bhandari on Monday prorogued performed was to give Deuba a confi- Parliament. The House of dence vote on July 18, just like Oli Representatives did not discuss any seeking a confidence vote on May 10 bills, let alone pass one. which he lost. POST PHOTO: DIPENDRA ROKKA Like his predecessor Oli, The CPN-UML, the main opposi- Two men look at a photo taken on a smartphone at Taumadhi square in Bhaktapur on Monday. Deuba seems bent on ruling tion, was quick to pounce upon the through ordinances. government’s failure to pass any bills. “Ruling the country through “The government failed to give busi- ordinances can never be good ness to the House for one month. Now and acceptable,” said Jhalak the House has been prorogued sudden- Subedi, a political analyst. ly without consulting the opposition,” Oli had issued 15 ordinances said Subas Nembang, deputy parlia- Nepal scrambles to evacuate and all but one of them were mentary party leader of the CPN- presented in the lower house UML. “Whatever has happened is when it was convened on July 18 unfortunate.” as per the Supreme Court order. But Nepali Congress leaders defend- Nepalis from Afghanistan Among these ordinances that ed the House prorogation. are yet to become law are one >> Continued on page 2 AFP/RSS Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on Monday, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. Thousands flee Easier said than done, officials say, as the country lacks diplomatic links and mechanisms, including dedicated Afghanistan after ministers. Government relying on employing countries. ANIL GIRI, SANGAM PRASAIN & Taliban takeover PRITHVI MAN SHRESTHA EDITORIAL | PG 4 KATHMANDU, AUG 16 Was the great invasion of ASSOCIATED PRESS Afghanistan really worth it? KABUL, AUG 16 After Kabul’s fall to the Taliban on Sunday ended the United States’ era in Thousands of Afghans rushed Afghanistan, there has been panic and mentary affairs, told reporters after onto the tarmac of Kabul’s interna- bedlam. As desperate Afghans are try- Monday’s Cabinet meeting. tional airport Monday, so desperate to ing to flee the country, countries from Officials, however, were clueless as escape the Taliban capture of their around the world are scrambling to to how they are going to do so. For an country that they held onto an evacuate their citizens. So is Nepal. evacuation plan, the government first American military jet as it took off But the Sher Bahadur Deuba gov- needs to ascertain the number of and plunged to death in chaos that ernment is in a fix. Nepalis in Afghanistan. killed at least seven people, US offi- Firstly, the Deuba administration “We have to know the number first cials said. lacks ministers at all three key three and the status of Nepalis before send- The crowds of people rushing the ministries (foreign affairs, labour and ing evacuation flights,” Buddhi Sagar airport came as the Taliban enforced tourism) whose coordination is a must Lamichhane, joint secretary at the their rule over the wider capital to bring Nepalis—there is no exact Civil Aviation Ministry, told the Post. after a lightning advance across the data of how many are there in the “We are coordinating with all minis- country that took just over a week to war-torn country—home. Secondly, it tries and diplomatic agencies for a dethrone the country’s Western- never had a direct diplomatic channel safe evacuation of Nepalis.” backed government. While there in Afghanistan. Thirdly, amid confu- According to the Department of were no major reports of abuses, sion after the Taliban takeover, it is Foreign Employment, in the last fiscal many stayed home and remained difficult to establish communication year, ending mid-July, 1,073 Nepalis fearful as the insurgents’ advance saw with the new regime in Kabul. had obtained labour permits to work prisons emptied and armouries The government, however, has said in Afghanistan. The department’s sta- looted. it “would do all it requires” to evacu- tistics show that in the last seven The Taliban swept into Kabul on ate Nepalis from Afghanistan. years, more than 8,000 Nepalis have Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani As pressure grew on the govern- been issued labour permits to fled the country, bringing an end to a ment, a Cabinet meeting on Monday Afghanistan. two-decade campaign in which the US instructed all concerned agencies to But there are no figures of the and its allies had tried to transform ramp up efforts to repatriate Nepali undocumented Nepali workers, Afghanistan. The country’s Western- citizens from Afghanistan. and estimates suggest there could trained security forces collapsed or “The meeting has directed all relat- be more than 14,000. Afghanistan is fled, ahead of the planned withdrawal ed agencies to do all necessary work to one of the key countries, despite of the last American troops at the end ensure safe return of Nepalis from high risk, where Nepalis prefer to go of the month. Afghanistan,” Gyanendra Bahadur due to high pay. >> Continued on page 6 Karki, minister for law and parlia- >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL Nepal scrambles to evacuate Nepalis ... >> Continued from page 1 ing office, which it said has caused “We don’t have the exact data on delay in rescuing Nepalis. undocumented Nepalis working in “Nepali citizens are in desperate Afghanistan. As of now, we have data need of evacuation. The government of 1,500 Nepalis working in does not even know the number of Afghanistan,” said Harish Chandra Nepalis stranded in Afghanistan. Ghimire, a joint secretary at the They need immediate evacuation,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs. said lawmaker Bimala BK of the UML. Ghimire heads the task force Bharat Shah, a lawmaker from the formed by the government on Sunday ruling Nepali Congress, said just a for the safe repatriation of Nepali citi- decision is not going to work. zens from Afghanistan. “It needs prompt implementation,” The task force consists of members said Shah while speaking in the lower from the ministries of foreign affairs, house. home, labour and employment, health, Many say the Taliban takeover was and tourism and civil aviation. Other imminent ever since the United States members are from Nepal Police, announced the withdrawal of its Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre troops by September and that the and Department of Consular Services. Nepal government should have start- Ghimire said the task force held a ed preparing the evacuation plan for series of meetings on Monday. Nepalis. “As soon as the security situation A senior Foreign Ministry official, becomes normal, we will begin the however, said the government was repatriation process. There can be two closely monitoring the unfolding situ- ways,” he said. “The first option is ation in Afghanistan. seeking support from friendly nations. “We were taking stock of the devel- The second option is to repatriate opments in Afghanistan and we had Nepalis by sending planes from established contacts with diplomatic Nepal.” missions and UN agencies,” the offi- For Nepal to send its planes, howev- cial, who did not wish to be named, er, will take time. told the Post. “That’s how we conclud- All passenger flights out of the ed that there could be around 1,500 Kabul airport have been suspended Nepalis remaining in Afghanistan.” POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC starting Monday, according to A man poses under a waterfall while his friend takes his picture at Nagarkot, Bhaktapur on Monday.