Submit your Article

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has said the role of media is significant to strengthen democracy.

Taking part in the "lawmakers-media dialogue" concluded in Nagarkot of Bhaktapur today, he said the practice of journalism within the democratic frame will contribute to promote democracy.

"An effective parliament is required to strengthen democracy and media and journalists are warranted to play a role of watchdog to ensure the presence of such parliament," the Speaker said.

He reminded the media of its first responsibility to disseminate credible and fact-based news. According to him, parliament needs constructive support from media to improve its performance.

Stating that at present the House is dedicating time to discuss about various bills, he said this information should be reached among the public.

Also speaking on the occasion, Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar requested journalists to be responsible while acting as parliamentary reporters.

Federal Parliament Secretariat Secretary-General Padma Prasad Pandey said interaction was fruitful for him to realise about issues that the Secretariat should address.

Journalists attending the event were of the view that political parties, legislators and the government should be responsible towards parliament.

Parliament Secretariat Secretary Dr Rojnath Pandey, senior journalists Hari Bahadur Thapa and Jagat Nepal presented papers on parliamentary reporting and practices. Journalists from the parliamentary reporting beat attended the two-day event. 

President Ram Chandra Paudel said that festivals are instrumental to promote diverse cultural identities and enhance mutual good will, tolerance and solidarity among the communities having different religious faiths.

Extending best wishes to Christian religious people for their happiness, peace and good health on the occasion of the 'Christmas Day', he expressed the confidence that such festivals would further strengthen and consolidate national unity.

Christmas Day is celebrated every year on December 25 as a religious and cultural festival to mark the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ.

On the occasion, various programs are being organized in different parts of the country, including Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Pokhara.

President Paudel wished that the festival of Christians would inspire all to deepen the spirit of mutual trust, love and unity.

The government has taken a significant step toward restructuring the aviation sector as the cabinet last week approved two crucial bills aimed at splitting the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) into regulatory and service provider entities.

The cabinet meeting held on Friday green-lit the Bill to Amend and Consolidate Laws Related to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, 2024, and the Nepal Air Service Authority Bill, 2024. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey had presented these bills to the cabinet on Sept 6 after the law ministry approved their drafts. This has paved the way for Minister Pandey to table the bills in parliament. 

The primary objective of these bills is to improve aviation safety by ending CAAN’s dual role as both regulator and service provider.  The restructuring of CAAN is crucial for the aviation sector as Nepali airlines have been unable to fly into European airspace since Dec 2013 when the European Union put Nepal in its air safety list following a Sita Air Twin Otter crash in the Manohara river in September 2012, which claimed the lives of all 19 onboard.

Earlier in October this year, the EU’s ambassador to Nepal Veronqiue Lorenzo said the ban can be removed if the law is passed to split the CAAN into a service provider and regulatory body.

Since the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) earlier this month lifted the flight ban on Pakistan International Airlines three months after Pakistan divided its civil aviation authority into three separate entities—Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, Bureau of Aircraft Safety Investigation and the Pakistan Airports Authority—tourism ministry officials are hopeful that unbundling of CAAN into regulator and service providing entities would lead to the removal of Nepal from the air safety list.

The government first mooted the plan to split CAAN in 2007. The Third Interim Plan (2007/08-2009/10) said that recommendations from a study panel to split roles of CAAN as the service provider in civil aviation, airport operator and regulator were being considered.

In Oct 2018, a sub-committee of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives under former PM Madhav Kumar Nepal directed the government to immediately split the aviation body. The sub-committee said in its report that Nepal’s aviation industry is facing problems at the national and international levels due to the delay in the separation. The panel had directed the government to pass the civil aviation bills immediately.

Following the parliamentary committee’s direction, the then tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai had tabled the bills in parliament in Feb 2020. 

In Aug 2021, the National Assembly unanimously approved the two bills. The International Relations and Tourism Committee had directed the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to table the bills in the lower house of the federal parliament at the earliest in December last year, to no avail.

Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal Abrar H Hashmi paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday.

During the meeting held at the official residence of the Prime Minister at Baluwatar, they discussed various issues of bilateral relations and interest as well as increasing cooperation in trade, tourism, agriculture, renewable energy, disaster management, education and culture, the Prime Minister's Private Secretariat stated. 

On the occasion, PM Oli stressed that Nepal, from the position of SAARC Chair, has been making efforts to activate the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and SAARC-member countries should play a constructive role in it. 

Stating that there should be no adverse impact on regional organizations like SAARC even if there is any problem between any two countries, Prime Minister Oli said Nepal has been expanding its relation and collaborating with other nations keeping the justified national interests in mind from the position of expanding and collaborating for the position of sovereign and independent country.

Similarly, the Pakistani Ambassador said they were ready to host the SAARC Summit in Pakistan. He shared that Pakistan was willing to expand further cooperation with Nepal on various issues in the days ahead.