Foreign ministry tells Ansari not to perform ambassadorial duties
HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has instructed tainted Nepali ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ansari not to perform any ambassadorial duties.
Ansari, who flew back to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia where the Nepali Embassy is located, had tried to enter office.
According to a MoFA source, Ansari could have returned to Riyadh to destroy evidence that could be used to indict him in a graft case currently being probed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. Ansari faces the charge of having transferred the insurance amount due to the family of a deceased migrant worker to his own bank account.
Upon learning that Ansari, who had been recalled two weeks ago to record his statement with CIAA had returned to the Nepali embassy in Riyadh, MoFA wrote to Ansari yesterday informing he had been barred from working as the government had recalled him.
Being a Muslim, Ansari might seek asylum in Saudi Arabia to escape punishment in Nepal, claimed the source.
MoFA wrote to him fearing that he might destroy evidence that could be used against him. An investigation into the case is under way, said a highly placed source at MoFA. MoFA has already designated Parash Ghimire, Deputy chief of Mission in Riyadh, as acting ambassador. On February 1, the cabinet had recalled Ansari on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Human Rights, CIAA and MoFA. Ansaris clarification was deemed unsatisfactory.
Ansari, who flew back to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia where the Nepali Embassy is located, had tried to enter office.
According to a MoFA source, Ansari could have returned to Riyadh to destroy evidence that could be used to indict him in a graft case currently being probed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. Ansari faces the charge of having transferred the insurance amount due to the family of a deceased migrant worker to his own bank account.
Upon learning that Ansari, who had been recalled two weeks ago to record his statement with CIAA had returned to the Nepali embassy in Riyadh, MoFA wrote to Ansari yesterday informing he had been barred from working as the government had recalled him.
Being a Muslim, Ansari might seek asylum in Saudi Arabia to escape punishment in Nepal, claimed the source.
MoFA wrote to him fearing that he might destroy evidence that could be used against him. An investigation into the case is under way, said a highly placed source at MoFA. MoFA has already designated Parash Ghimire, Deputy chief of Mission in Riyadh, as acting ambassador. On February 1, the cabinet had recalled Ansari on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Human Rights, CIAA and MoFA. Ansaris clarification was deemed unsatisfactory.
Comments