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An eight-member committee has been formed to investigate the balloon explosion incident that took place during the inaugural ceremony of the 'Pokhara Visit Year 2025' held in Pokhara yesterday.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak formed an eight-member probe committee under the coordination of Kaski's Chief District Officer Bharatmani Pandey.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within 15 days.

The committee consists of Chief Administrative Officer of Pokhara Metropolitan City Shivraj Chaulagain, Superintendent of Police of Kaski Shyambabu Oliya, Chief of Armed Police Force No. 24 Battalion Surya Prasad Timilsina, Deputy Director of National Investigation Department at Kaski District Office Suresh Kumar Tiwari and Assistant Chief District Officer of Kaski Ganga Bahadur Chhetri is assigned as Member Secretary.

Similarly, the committee will also include an explosives expert as a member.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya were injured during the inauguration ceremony where the incident took place in Pokhara on Saturday.

Both DPM Paudel and Mayor Acharya are being treated in the intensive care unit of the Burn Hospital in Kirtipur.

After the formation of the investigation committee, the Home Minister visited the Burn Hospital and inquired about injured persons' health condition. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the two large political parties of the country have formed the government for the nation's development and stability, and there is no need for any misgivings between the present ruling partners.

The PM was responding to questions posed by lawmakers in today's meeting of the House of Representatives.

He said that the present government was formed with the participation of two major political parties and other parties who played an important role in Nepal's democratic movement for development, prosperity and stability.

According to him, there was high confidence and understanding among the alliance parties to continue the country's development and prosperity and maintain political stability.

The Prime Minister expressed the belief that policy and legal reforms through the ordinances issued by the government some time ago would improve the business environment and increase economic activities by boosting investment.

He made it clear that it is not appropriate for parties that brought the ordinance with the provision of support of 20 percent of the parliamentary party members of a party for splitting the party in the past to oppose the ordinance issued with the goal of policy and legal reforms now.

In response to a question raised by Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) lawmaker Barshaman Pun, PM Oli said the government was committed to make the allocated budget priority-based and result-oriented, to address the challenges seen in the economy by carrying out economic reform programmes, to accelerate development activities, to improve service delivery and to maintain good governance.

The PM further said that arrangements have been made to select only the projects that have been included in the project bank while formulating the budget and selecting and prioritizing the project to increase capital expenditure and improve the implementation of the project by maintaining austerity in the current expenditure.

Similarly, he added that arrangements have been made to select only those projects that have been prioritized in the sector and those ones for which the source of investment has been ensured and those that will give returns in a short time, and the projects for which all the preparatory works of have been completed according to the project classification criteria.

Prime Minister Oli stressed that mechanisms would be activated to expedite the implementation of the projects, to solve the problems seen in the management of contracts, to make timely amendments to the public procurement law and to maintain inter-government tier and inter-agency coordination. 

President Ram Chandra Paudel has inquired about the health condition of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya who are undergoing treatment at the Burn Hospital in Kirtipur.

DPM Paudel and Mayor Acharya were injured when a hydrogen balloon exploded while inaugurating a program organized for the promotion of tourism in Pokhara on Saturday.

Both are being treated at the intensive care unit in the Burn Hospital.

Health Minister Pradeep Paudel, Health Secretary Dr Roshan Pokharel and Director of the Hospital Dr Kiran Kishor Nakarmi, along with the doctors involved in his treatment, briefed the President about the health condition of DPM and Mayor.

Dr Nakarmi shared that though the health condition of Paudel and Acharya is becoming normal, they should be kept under the supervision of doctors for some time.

He further emphasized that the hospital should be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technology for the treatment of burns.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday offered to sell state-of-the-art fighter jets to India as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to ramp up trade, rekindling a bond that defies the new US administration's punitive approach to much of the world.

Modi, only the fourth world leader to visit the White House since Trump's return, described the fellow nationalist as a friend and told him he was adopting a take on his "Make America Great Again" slogan.

Trump said that he found a "special bond" with Modi and India and, in an uncharacteristic if ironic show of humility, complimented Modi as being a "much tougher negotiator" than he is.

Successive US administrations have seen India as a key partner with like-minded interests in the face of a rising China, and Trump announced that the new administration was ready to sell one of the top US military prizes -- F-35s.

"Starting this year, we'll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars," Trump told a joint news conference with Modi.

"We're also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters," Trump said.

India would join an elite club of countries that include NATO allies, Israel and Japan that would be allowed to buy the F-35, which can operate without detection at supersonic speeds.

India currently relies on an ageing fleet of Russian fighter jets as well as a small number of French-made Rafale aircraft.

India's arch rival and neighbour, Pakistan, however said it was "deeply concerned" about the sales.

"Such steps accentuate military imbalances in the region and undermine strategic stability. They remain unhelpful in achieving the objectives of durable peace in the region," said Shafqat Ali Khan, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Continuing a push from his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump said that the two countries also planned investment in ports, railways and underseas cable to "build one of the greatest trade routes in all of history," running from India to Israel to Europe and beyond.

Trump has dueled with both friends and foes on economic issues. Hours before meeting, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on all countries, including India.

Speaking next to Modi, Trump called India's "unfair, very strong tariffs" a "big problem" but said that the two countries would hold negotiations to close a trade deficit in India's favor.

Modi said that the world's largest and fifth-largest economies would work on a "mutually beneficial trade agreement" to be sealed "very soon," with a focus on oil and gas.

Joining Trump's meeting with Modi was SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Elon Musk, who has launched an aggressive effort as Trump's right-hand man to overhaul the US bureaucracy.

Modi also met one-on-one with Musk, raising questions over whether the world's richest man was meeting the Indian leader in an official or business capacity.

The Indian premier posted pictures of himself shaking hands with the beaming Musk, with several children on Musk's side of the room, and Indian officials on the other.

Modi offered quick tariff concessions ahead of his visit, with New Delhi slashing duties on high-end motorcycles -- a boost to Harley-Davidson, the iconic US manufacturer whose struggles in India have irked Trump.

India has already accepted a US military flight carrying 100 shackled migrants last week as part of Trump's immigration crackdown. The treatment drew protests from India's opposition which accused Modi of sacrificing the dignity of citizens to please Trump.

Trump in turn announced the United States would extradite to India a suspect in the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai, whom he called "one of the very evil people in the world."

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin who was based in Chicago, was convicted in 2011 and later sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Modi and Trump share much in common, with both campaigning on promises to promote majority communities over minorities and both doggedly quashing dissent.

In 2020, Modi delighted Trump by inviting him before a cheering crowd of more than 100,000 people to inaugurate the world's largest cricket stadium in his home state of Gujarat.

Trump could visit India later this year for a summit of the Quad -- a four-way grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States. AFP