PHSC clears eight career diplomats as ambassadors
KATHMANDU, Aug 6: The newly formed government has decided to withdraw the nominations of 14 people, out of the total 22, recommended for ambassadorial posts to various countries by the KP Sharma Oli-led government.

The CPN-UML-led government had picked eight career diplomats and 14 other candidates under political quotas as ambassadorial nominees.

A cabinet meeting held at Singha Durbar on Friday decided to scrap all 14 ambassadorial nominations selected under political quota.

The cabinet meeting scrapped the nominations of Mahendra Bahadur Pandey for China, former minister for general administration Yubaraj Karki for South Korea, Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe for Israel, Khadga KC for Japan, Narad Bhardwaj for Sri Lanka and Ali Akhtar Mikrani for Saudi Arabia, writer and social activist Padam Sundas for Bahrain, Mahendra Singh for Qatar, Yubanath Lamsal, editor of The Rising Nepal, for Denmark, and Lucky Sherpa for Australia, Niranjan Thapa for Russia, Bharat Bahadur Rayamajhi for United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Khagendra Basnet for Bangladesh.

Of the 14 ambassadorial nominees, 6 were from CPN-UML quota, 4 from CPN (Maoist Center), 3 from RPP-N and 1 from Madhesi People's Right Forum Democratic.   

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Hearings Special Committee (PHSC) has unanimously endorsed eight people recommended by the previous government for the ambassadorial posts.

All eight people endorsed by the PHSC are career diplomats who hold joint-secretary-level positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is also government spokesperson.

The joint secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) who have been cleared for the ambassadorial posts are Durga Bahadur Subedi Chhetri for the United Kingdom, Tara Prasad Pokharel for Brazil, Ramesh Khanal for Germany, Jhabindra Aryal for Egypt, Sewa Adhikari for Pakistan, Prakash Subedi for Austria, Lok Bahadur Thapa for Belgium and Rishi Ghimire for Myanmar.

The PHSC had scheduled the hearings for the ambassadorial nominees, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Khadga Bahadur KC, Narad Bhardwaj, Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe and Ali Akhtar Mikrani for Friday. But before the hearing could begin, the cabinet meeting decided to scrap the nominations of all the nominees recommended based on political quota.   

The PHSC has started the hearings on the ambassadorial nominees from Friday, almost four months after the recommendations made by the previous government.

 
• parliamentary hearings special committee
 
• 14 envoy nominees
 
• ambassadorial posts