Parliament drawn attention on joint military drill; Minister says no agreement, decision on joint military exercise

Kathmandu / Sept 5: Lawmakers speaking at the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday drew the government’s attention over various pertinent issues including violence against women, natural disaster and the proposed joint military drill among BIMSTEC states.

Seeking special time at the meeting, Bhim Bahadur Rawal said, “It was heard that Chief of Army Staffs from BIMSTEC countries held meeting in Pune of India. Even the issue of joint military drill was heard in the BIMSTEC which actually should not have occurred as it was the forum for the technical and economic cooperation. It was against country’s national interest.”

He however said it was a welcome job that BIMSTEC was held successfully.

“We need to consider national interest before the regional organization. We must not be swayed after the SAARC or BIMSTEC countries’ agenda, forgetting the national interest,” he underscored.

Similar view was expressed by Prem Suwal. Joint military drill is against country’s interest, he added.

Amaresh Kumar Singh questioned why a person was punished to death just because he/she had waved black flag to a Minister in protest. Such punishment does not strengthen democracy. “Government representatives are violating law,” he asserted.

Laxman Lal Karna also seconded Singh, saying that Ram Manohar Yadav from Bardiya was thrashed to death in detention merely because of displaying a black flag to a Minister. The Home Minister must furnish reply to this incident and even form a parliamentary committee to probe in it.

Indra Kumari Sharma reminded that the rape cases escalating in the country of late were badly besmirching the society, so its prevention was required.

Other lawmakers showed concern over landslides occurred in different places including Okhaldhunga and demanded compensation to the families of the victims.

Even the monkey menace in Hetauda, Dolakha and Parbat districts and the Pashupati area surfaced in the meeting.

Other lawmakers as Mahesh Basnet and Aman Lal Modi defended the government saying the opposition was only making negative comments.

No agreement, decision on joint military exercise during BIMSTEC Summit, says Gyawali

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, has said the matter of holding mutual military exercise has not been incorporated in any mechanism of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit.

Briefing the International Relations Committee under the House of Representatives about the agenda passed by the recent BIMSTEC Summit, the foreign minister said the Summit did not dwell on the issue of holding the joint military exercise as reported in media.

Nepal hosted the Summit in Kathmandu on August 30-31. The issue of the joint military exercise was not entered in all three layers of meetings of the BIMSTEC (the Special SOM, ministerial-level and the Summit),” Gyawali added.

Committee member Bhim Bahadur Rawal claimed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at the inaugural session of the Summit stated that he would welcome the member States to India for joint military exercise in the second week of September.

“Such practice would be against the concept and spirit of BIMSTEC,” Rawal claimed. RSS