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 Eight children, including four siblings, were killed in Afghanistan when a mortar shell they were playing with exploded, relatives said Saturday, adding to the ever-growing civilian toll in the 17-year war. 

Another six children were wounded in the blast on Friday, including two who had lost limbs and were in a critical condition in a hospital in the northwestern province of Faryab. 

All the children were aged between five and 12. "They found an unexploded mortar shell and brought it near our house," Shukrullah, an uncle of four of the children killed, told AFP. 
"They didn't know what it was and were trying to open it when it suddenly exploded." 

Mohammad Alam, who was a cousin of four of the children, said he heard a "big explosion". "I rushed to the site and saw the kids covered in blood," Alam told AFP from the hospital. "They had found an unexploded shell and were playing with it when it went off." Officials were quick to blame the explosion on the Taliban, which last week captured Koh-e-Sayad village where the children lived. 

The militants had planted a mine near a security checkpoint, Faryab police spokesman Abdul Karim Yoresh told AFP. 

"On Friday afternoon the children were passing the area when the mine hit them," Yoresh said. Children are often killed or maimed by explosive devices left over from decades of conflict, carelessly discarded or deliberately planted. 

Civilians, including children, have borne the brunt of the conflict which began with the US-led invasion in 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime. 
UN figures show 3,179 children were killed or wounded in 2017, accounting for almost one-third of the total civilian casualties for the year. 
Improvised explosive devices, such as remotely detonated or pressure-plate bombs, killed or wounded 545 of them. 

Unexploded ordnance claimed the lives of 142 children and wounded 376 in the same period. AFP

It may have been made with the best of intent. Many of its provisions may be laudable too. But three years after the promulgation of the new constitution, its success or failure largely hing­es on one, whether it can be implemented and two, on whether the new charter, through amendments if needed, can embrace all sections of the society. The promulgation of the new constitution was a monu­mental feat no doubt: For the first time in Nepal’s dem­ocratic history people’s chosen representatives had written a constitution on their own.

It set in motion the process of institutionalization of the federal democratic republic, particularly with the completion of three tiers of elections under the fed­eral setup. The rationale for federalization was simple enough. The unitary state centered on Kathmandu had miserably failed to meet the aspirations of the down­trodden and the marginalized communities, even as it enriched a handful of elites. The goal was thus to decentralize governance, to take democracy to the grassroots through empowerment of provincial and local bodies. Things have not gone as planned.

The three elections have been completed but there has been no meaningful devolution of power and resources. The federal government has in fact been loath to empower provinces and local bodies. But the local representatives are not blameless either; instead of bringing democracy to the grassroots they are busy buying expensive vehicles and giving themselves all kinds of unearned perks with the help of new tax­es they have levied. These were the kind of excesses under the old unitary state that the federal setup want­ed to do away with.

The other big challenge is accommodating the mar­ginalized communities that still feel left out of the polit­ical mainstream. With so many competing demands, that won’t be easy either. The risk is that as voices of disgruntlements intensify, and federal and lower tiers of governments quarrel over power and resources, people’s faith in federalism, and by extension the new constitution, will erode. This in turn could once again boost undemocratic forces.

It is now upon the drafters of the constitution to ensure its longevity by timely amending it, quickly drafting requisite laws, better training the old bureau­cracy on federal ways and by instituting a culture of good governance and accountability.

 Kathmandu: Lawmakers in today's meeting of the House of Representatives put up various contemporary issues. Yogesh Bhattarai expressed the hope that the signing of the transit and transport protocol between Nepal and China would raise Nepal's economy. 

He also expected this agreement to be helping ease Nepal's international trade through six border points with China in the days to come, and taking diplomatic relations between the two countries to a new height. Durga Poudel drew the attention of the government to arrest and to make public the murderer(s) of Nirmala Panta, 13, of Kanchanpur, who was raped and murdered. 

Dibyamani Rajbhandari objected to the idea of shifting the office of Social Welfare Council to the Office of Vice President. 

Similarly, Chanda Chaudhary expressed worries about the increasing incidents of rapes and violence against women, and demanded the capital punishment for the rapists by amending the related act and laws. Likewise, Pradip Yadav called the attention of the government to complete the Nijgadh Airport construction soon. 

Prem Suwal demanded transparency in the Nepal Medical Council, while Chhaka Bahadur Lama urged the establishment of the exam centre of the Teachers Service Commission in Simikot, Humla. 
Maina Kumari Bhandari drew the attention of the government to shifting the settlements of various places in Baglung at risk of flooding to safety. RSS

Q. In three adjectives, how would you describe yourself?

A. Humble, honest and kind.

Q. A common misconception about you?

A. People think I am brutal going by my looks but I am very soft-hearted. Don’t judge a book by its cover

Q. Question that you wish people would stop asking?

A. Everyone went “Oh my god! You are so thin,” when I lost a little bit weight. Then they go “Oh my god! You’re so fat.” when I gained a little bit weight. It’s very offending.

Q. Words that keep you motivated?

A. More than words, love and affection keep me on my toes.

Q. What would your ideal weekend comprise of?

A. Some quality time with my wife and my loved ones, away from the noise in a quiet place.

Q. Best possession?

A. All of my guitars.

Q. If you could have three of your wishes granted, what would they be?

A. I would ask for three more wishes and, again, another set of wishes and more wishes, so I can use all of them at my own will. hehe

In the month and a half since the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Pant of Kanchanpur district, the police are no closer to apprehending the real culprits, even as they have already paraded some fake ones. On September 13, in a separate case, also in Kanchanpur, a father who had raped his 12-year-old daughter was given 22 years behind bars. But was it enough for such a horrific crime? Some activists say no less than death penalty will do.

The new constitution guarantees every Nepali’s right to dignified life, which most certainly means that a woman cannot be forced to have sex against her wishes. The same constitution also outlaws death penalty.

The proponents of capital punishment argue that the charter can always be amended and that no other type of punishment will deter would-be rapists. Its opponents contend that the idea of death penalty flies in the face of the each and every human being’s inalienable right to life (See Sabhyata Jha’s article, here).

Meanwhile, Nepal continues to be a dangerous place for women and girls. Of the 100 of them we surveyed, 93 women reported having experienced some kind of sexual harassment; 88 of them said that the experience had affected them emotionally (See Aarzoo Nepal’s opinion piece, here).

All these facts and figures lead to one unmistakable conclusion: despite some legal provisions to the contrary, there is still a long way to go when it comes to ensuring a level playing field between men and women.

It has happened at last. Two and a half years after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli signed the landmark trade and transit agreement during his state visit to China in 2016, the protocol to make the agreement functional has finally been agreed to. China will now allow Nepal four ports and three dry ports for third-country trade. As per the agreement, Nepali cargo vehicles will be allowed into China to ferry goods to and fro from these ports. When the finalized protocol is signed at the highest level—most probably during the expected Nepal visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, sometime in 2019—it will be a monumental development for the landlocked Nepal.

It will once and for all end the state of Nepal’s near complete dependence on India, with which it does nearly 90 percent of its trade and through which it carries out all of its third-coun­try trade. When the Chinese routes are open, never again will India be able to impose the kind of crippling economic blockades it has resorted to whenever Kathmandu has not agreed to do its bidding. That at least is the idea.

But there are some hitches. The nearest Chi­nese port is over 2,600 km away while the port of Kolkata that Nepal has traditionally relied on for third-country trade is just 627 km from the Nepali bor­der. That being the case, how many traders will choose Chinese routes instead of Indian ones? Thus by the time the finalized protocol is signed, Nepal and Chi­na must explore ways to make transit via China both cheap and hassle-free. For instance one advantage of Chinese ports could be that the freight-handling there is fast and Nepali traders will not have to spend much to store their goods there.

We believe that irrespective of the issue of financial viability, just having the option of reaching the high seas via China will greatly boost the morale of the landlocked country. In today’s interconnected world, no country can afford to completely rely on another; it must rather look to engage with the widest spectrum of countries possible. We also hope that India under­stands this and that it does not look to punish Nepal for ‘cozying up’ to China. Such churlishness will only undercut India’s standing among the smaller countries in the region.

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