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In April, after more than eight years in the United States, Aashish Subedi was put on a plane and deported to Bhutan, his country of birth. But when he arrived, Bhutanese authorities didn’t welcome him home. Instead, officials transported him to the border with India and he made his way to Nepal. But he was stateless.

Subedi is among dozens of former Bhutanese refugees who have been deported from the US in recent weeks, human rights advocates say. A US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson provided Global Press Journal with a list of six former Bhutanese refugees who’d been deported in April, but acknowledged that the list was far from comprehensive. Subedi’s name was not on that list, but he provided Global Press Journal with his green card number and other identifying information. All of the people on the list were convicted of serious crimes while in the US. Subedi says he, too, had previously been found guilty of a felony. The deported people were originally among tens of thousands of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa people that the Bhutanese government persecuted and forced from the country in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of these families found haven in refugee camps in Nepal, where they weren’t allowed to get citizenship. Some, like Subedi, ultimately moved to the US as refugees.

But now, Subedi, who used the first name of Aasis while in the US, is back in the refugee camp where he lived as a child. “I never imagined that I would be returning to the place where I grew up, this time as an undocumented person,” he says. “Now, my future is shrouded in uncertainty.:  The case of Subedi and other deported former refugees calls into question the legality of deportation when the end result is statelessness. Under ordinary circumstances, agreements between countries govern deportation. In this case, it’s not clear whether the US had an agreement with Bhutan to deport people there. Representatives of the Bhutanese government did not respond to requests for information.

Even if Bhutan has agreed to receive the people, the deportations are “deeply alarming,” says Samantha Sitterley, an attorney at United Stateless, in an email to Global Press Journal. In general, she points out, it’s not legal for the US to deport people to a place where their lives or freedoms are threatened. “Bhutan has not changed its position towards this group, which includes the decision to explicitly deny them citizenship and other basic rights,” she says. An investigation is underway in the Nepali judicial system to determine what the former refugees’ future will hold. They no longer have authorization to live in Nepal since they were resettled in the US. And if they’re expelled from Nepal, no country in the world would be obligated to take them in.

Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, a refugee specialist at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, says at least 30 Bhutanese people have been deported from the US, and at least 60 more are expected to be deported soon. Now, he says, they’re stateless. “These people have no country, no citizenship and no land to call their own,” Siwakoti says, summarizing the situation as a grave human rights violation.

Ramchandra Tiwari, a spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs, says the Nepali government is engaging with both the US and Bhutan to resolve the issue through legal means. “Returning people who have been officially recognized as refugees and resettled abroad,” he says, “is unforgivable under international law.”

Stateless

Subedi’s deportation was part of what ICE called a “targeted enforcement operation,” according to details provided by that agency to Global Press Journal. All the men on the list provided by ICE were admitted to the US as refugees and eventually became permanent residents. Their criminal histories include convictions for battery of and cruelty toward children, solicitation of a minor under the age of 15, possession of child pornography, robbery and a host of other crimes. Subedi says he was convicted of “gross sexual imposition,” a felony in the state of Ohio.

Judges had ordered at various times in recent years that all the men on the ICE list be removed from the US. The most common way someone loses their status as a permanent resident is due to criminal conviction, Sitterley says. If the former refugees lost their status, she says, “they were stateless when they were in the US.” The yearslong delay between the removal orders and the deportations indicates that “ICE had the authority to deport these people for quite some time but no place to send them, until now,” Sitterley says.

Himesh Krishna Kharel, a lawyer for Subedi and the other former refugees, says the men have been victims of criminalization since birth. Most didn’t know about the process for applying for US citizenship, he says. They also couldn’t afford lawyers to represent them in the criminal cases that ultimately figured into the US decision to deport them. “The US resettlement of refugees is a permanent solution,” says Ram Karki, founder of the Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan. “If resettled people commit crimes, they should be prosecuted within the US legal system.”

Expelled and stranded

Subedi says he was taken by ICE directly from prison in March, and detained in Ohio. He was then moved to a series of detention facilities before being deported in April. He says he was one of 18 people that ICE officers accompanied to Bhutan. When they arrived, he says, after a day at a hotel, Bhutanese authorities took them to the Indian border crossing and handed them InRs 30,000 ($355) each.

Subedi remembers their words: “You have no right to be here—no language, no citizenship.” He moved through India, he says, and paid a broker to cross illegally into Nepal. In the 1980s and 1990s, Bhutan’s nationalist “One Nation, One People” policy targeted Lhotshampa Nepali speakers, stripping them of their citizenship and forcing nearly 100,000 people to Nepal. Many spent years, even decades, in refugee camps. From 2007 to 2018, more than 113,000 Bhutanese refugees were resettled from Nepal to third countries, making it one of the largest and most successful UNHCR resettlement programs in history. Some, though, still remain in camps in Nepal.

Subedi reunited with his father, Narayan Kumar Subedi, when he returned to the refugee camp in April. Narayan Kumar Subedi says he, his two wives and his son were expelled from Bhutan 33 years ago. They received refugee cards and lived in a refugee camp in Nepal, but weren’t allowed to pursue permanent residency or citizenship. Years later, when the international resettlement program began, one of his wives, son and a daughter who was born in the camp were deemed eligible for refugee status in the US.

Meanwhile, Narayan Kumar Subedi remained in the camp. Now, fate has brought his son back after nearly a decade—not as a citizen of any country but as a stateless person with no land or nationality to his name. The reunion was bittersweet. “I was emotional to see my son again,” he says. “For years, I sat alone in their empty bed, waiting for this moment.”

He called on the police to investigate the deportation. But when they arrived, they took his son away in handcuffs. Immigration officials ordered that he be sent back to the US. “These individuals came without documentation, and under current law we are forced to classify them as illegal immigrants,” says Tiwari, spokesperson for the Nepali Ministry of Home Affairs. Aashish Subedi says he was held in police custody for weeks while his legal status was investigated. During that time, his father filed a writ of habeas corpus in the Supreme Court. On April 24, Subedi, along with three other former Bhutanese refugees who’d been deported from the US, listened to lawyers argue their cases.

The order finally came: temporary relief, a stay of deportation. But an investigation with a 60-day deadline is now underway for some of the former refugees, says Tulshi Bhattarai, the immigration officer leading the investigation. “Since they do not have any supporting documents, our interrogation is based on their statements,” Bhattarai says. Karki, of the Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan, says the case illustrates Bhutan’s impunity when it comes to expelling its own people and underscores the need for Nepal to establish refugee resettlement terms. “Without such measures,” he says, “Bhutan will now face less accountability and may find it easier to reject or expel refugees again.” 

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal

Recently, President Ramchandra Paudel presented the policies and programs of the government for the fiscal year 2025-26 in a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. The presidential address has emphasized the government’s commitment in various areas, including strengthening the democratic republic, economic development and good governance. The policy document, which carries a lot of commitments from the past, comes at a time when the country is in an economic crisis, preceding the budget for the fiscal 2025-26. 

Statute amendment 

The policy document envisages amending the Constitution by strengthening its strengths and correcting its shortcomings through consensus, in the line of a promise that the two largest parties in the Parliament had made while forming the current ruling coalition nine months ago. The idea is to strengthen the democratic republic. 

Amid a slump, the document aims to fulfill the national aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepalis’ by ushering in political stability, good governance, development and social justice for a socialist-oriented economic and social transformation based on democratic values. 

Government-run programs, per the document, will focus on entrepreneurship development, production, productivity and job creation. 

The pledge to abolish/merge redundant structures is very much there as part of a commitment to stop wasteful spending. 

A carbon-free Nepal

On the energy front, the document has something big as it aims to prioritize energy development, especially renewable energy (solar, wind and hydrogen) and also develop multipurpose and reservoir-based hydropower projects. 

What’s more, the document pledges to make Nepal a net-zero carbon emission country by 2045. 

Good governance

Good governance is on priority, at least on paper, in line with a constant commitment to control corruption and end impunity. 

The document has a vision of linking most of the government services with “Nagarik App” as part of its effort to ensure good governance through digital platforms. It envisages a “digital ecosystem” for the development and expansion of the latest information technology, something which is expected to contribute to good governance. 

First and foremost, the app itself needs to undergo updates with the mention of the contact person, the person’s email address, etc for it to be able to be a tool for good governance. 

A healthy Nepal

Under the Healthy Nepal Campaign, the document aims to develop all aspects of the public health delivery system by adopting both preventive and curative methods. It has a vision for collaboration between the federal, provincial and local levels to provide quality basic health services to all citizens. It aims to develop a health system on the basis of population, geography and disease burden to realize this vision. 

Economic shocks 

For a large part, the policy document focuses on economic development and transformation, which is natural, given that the document forms the basis for the budget.
 
Nepal’s exports to developed countries will be affected after its graduation from the club of least developed countries to the grouping of developing countries. An evolving international trade system that is under pressure from the United States’s trade policies and China’s retaliatory policies poses challenges for Nepal. Although the external sector is doing good, the internal economy is not improving as expected. The government has to borrow money to meet its expenses as it has failed to meet revenue targets, which is not an enviable situation. The government should closely monitor evolving global trade scenarios and make suitable changes in its policies to minimize the shocks on the national economy.  

National security and foreign policy 

The document lays emphasis (once again) on effectively mobilizing all security agencies, including the Nepali Army, for national sovereignty, geographical integrity, national independence, national unity and national interest. It also outlines a vision for pursuing an independent foreign policy on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations by upholding the principles of non-alignment, Panchasheel, international laws and principles of world peace. The document aims to deepen relations with neighboring countries on the basis of mutual benefit and respect. What’s more, it has a vision to use economic diplomacy as an important tool for promoting aid, investment, labor market, tourism and trade.

Lastly, let’s hope that the government will be able to implement the policy document and usher in peace and stability in the country.

Nepal has intensified security measures in response to rising tensions between India and Pakistan, with particular focus on border areas, airports and other sensitive areas.

The tension surged following India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ in which it airstroke on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir on early Wednesday in a retaliatory action following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people including one Nepali citizen. 

The Indian army has said that artillery firing by Pakistan has led to the deaths of 15 civilians and injured 43 since Tuesday night. It said that the shelling hit civilian areas in Poonch and Tangdar in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan has said 26 people have been killed in the air strikes and cross-border firing.

Amid concerns over regional instability, Nepal’s Armed Police Force (APF) has been placed on high alert, particularly along the open Nepal-India border, to prevent illegal cross-border movement. APF Deputy Spokesperson DSP Shailendra Thapa said 24-hour patrols have been deployed between border outposts, and joint surveillance and intelligence-sharing with India’s Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have been intensified.

Special directives have been issued to battalion commanders, and identity checks are being strictly enforced. The APF is also coordinating with Nepal Police, the National Investigation Department, local representatives and the public to monitor border activity and prevent unauthorized movement.

Meanwhile, the Secretariat meeting of the National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, has decided to step up surveillance at Tribhuvan International Airport and other key entry points. Defense Secretary Rameshwar Dangal said the council assessed the potential impacts of the India-Pakistan conflict on Nepal and discussed enhancing internal preparedness, coordination and intelligence sharing. “The focus is on safeguarding national security and preparing for possible challenges,” he said in a press statement issued following the meeting of the Secretariat.

The safety of Nepali citizens in both India and Pakistan was also a key concern. The committee resolved to monitor their situation through diplomatic channels. During Wednesday’s parliamentary session, lawmakers expressed concern over the growing conflict and urged the government to protect the rights and welfare of Nepalis living abroad, especially in India and Pakistan. 

Internationally, the United Nations and several world leaders have called on both countries to exercise restraint and pursue dialogue to avoid a broader military conflict. A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is “very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border.” Stéphane Dujarric added: “He (The UN chief) calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan.”

Asked about the Indian strikes, US President Donald Trump replied: “It’s a shame.” Speaking at the White House in Washington DC, he said that “we just heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval (Office).” “I just hope it ends very quickly,” Trump added. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said on X that he is monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely. He echoed the US president’s comments “that this hopefully ends quickly.” He also said that he would continue to engage with both Indian and Pakistani leadership “towards a peaceful resolution.”

The Chinese foreign ministry has called India’s military operation against Pakistan “regrettable”. In response to a question on escalating tensions between the South Asian rivals, the foreign ministry spokesperson said they were “concerned” about the ongoing situation and asked both countries to “remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation.”

Russia’s foreign ministry has said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned about the deepening military confrontation” between India and Pakistan. It has urged the countries to show restraint. “Russia strongly condemns acts of terrorism, opposes any of its manifestations and emphasizes the need to unite the efforts of the entire international community to effectively combat this evil,” the statement said. “It is hoped that the existing disagreements between Delhi and Islamabad can be resolved through peaceful means, with Russia advocating for a bilateral resolution,” it added.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that current tensions between India and Pakistan are a “serious concern.” “The UK government is urging India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. Lammy said the UK had a close and unique relationship with both countries. “I have made clear to my counterparts in India and Pakistan that if this escalates further, nobody wins,” he said. “The UK was clear in its condemnation of the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam last month. We need all sides to work urgently to see regional stability restored and ensure protection of civilians,” he added.

Pakistan said it had rejected India’s claims of terrorist camps on its soil, reiterating that the allegations were baseless. “It would also be recalled that immediately after 22 April 2025, Pakistan made a sincere offer for a credible, transparent and neutral investigation, which unfortunately was not accepted,” the statement issued after Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) meeting chaired by PM Shehbaz Sharif said. It added that international media visited the alleged “terrorist camps” on May 6 and more visits had been scheduled. However, without providing a shred of evidence about its claims, India had gone ahead and attacked “innocent civilians in order to satiate its... short-sighted political objectives,” the statement said.

With inputs from Agencies

A bird census focusing on pheasant species, including the Himalayan monal (Danfe), has been conducted in the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) area within Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality of Kaski. 

The census was jointly organized by the Biodiversity Conservation Society Nepal (BIOCOS Nepal) and the World Pheasant Association, in collaboration with the ACAP. It covered regions such as Pilicho, Pipar, Khumai, Korchon, Lubrachhu and Chichimle in the Machhapuchhre Himal area. Researchers recorded 146 Danfe (Himalayan monals, 148 Satyr tragopans (Munal), 170 Hill partridges (Pyura) and 19 Kolass pheasants (Fokras) during the census.

In total, over 200 bird species were identified, according to Paras Bikram Singh, Director of BIOCOS Nepal.

Nineteen researchers and assistants conducted the census in teams across various locations. Previous surveys, carried out intermittently since 1976, have documented 314 bird species in this region. Nepal is home to 899 bird species, representing about eight percent of the world’s total. Despite its small size, the country’s ecological diversity—from the Himalayas to the Tarai—makes it rich in global biodiversity. Annapurna Conservation Area alone is home to 518 bird species.

The Machhapuchhre area is one of the few places globally where six pheasant species coexist, making it an exceptional site for birdwatching. However, experts say tourism infrastructure in the area remains underdeveloped. The region is particularly known for the Pipar Sanctuary, which has drawn ornithologists and researchers—especially from Britain—long before the ACAP was established, said Laxman Paudel, Chairperson of BIOCOS Nepal.

Dr Hum Gurung, Senior Asia Partnership Manager at BirdLife International, said Nepal has the potential to become a top bird watching destination in the world. "Nepal has 42 important bird areas. The Annapurna Conservation Area is one of them," Dr Gurung said. "Bird tourism can generate significant economic benefits for the local people if birds are protected, rather than hunted."

Traps threaten birds

Poaching, however, has emerged as a significant threat to bird conservation in Annapurna Conservation Area.

During the recent census, researchers discovered traps set to kill pheasants. “We found birds dead in some traps, while others were rescued and released,” said researcher Pawan Rai.

To combat poaching, BIOCOS Nepal and ACAP have implemented a mobile app-based patrol system known as SMART. Likewise, cameras have been installed on different trails to strengthen surveillance. Plans are also underway to install real-time spy cameras in high-risk poaching zones, said Dr Rabin Kadariya, chief of ACAP. “This will help us identify poachers and bring them to book,” he said. “Local communities will continue to play a key role in anti-poaching patrols.”

Killing a Danfe, the national bird, carries a prison sentence of up to three years, while killing other birds can result in fines of up to Rs 30,000.

ACAP has strengthened conservation efforts in partnerships with Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality, Great Machhapuchhre Trail Committee and other community groups to protect and increase the population of native pheasants, and help establish the Machhapuchhre region as a premier destination for bird tourism.

Note: The photo used in this news is taken by photographer Sherpa French Pemba in Dobate, Ilam. The photographer's name was mistakenly omitted in the previously published news, which has now been corrected.