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The Press Council Nepal has written to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation over the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s act of seeking a written clarification from Annapurna Media Network (AMN) regarding news reports published in Annapurna Post daily. 

The letter argues that CAAN’s move contradicts the principles of press freedom. The meeting of the Code of Conduct Monitoring subcommittee of the council held on Aug 22 has urged the ministry to take necessary action against CAAN for the protection of press freedom, reads the letter.

Editorial freedom within the media pertains to the independence of publishers in making decisions devoid of external interference. This encompasses the autonomy of editors to determine content and coverage. The letter underlines that seeking explanations from the publisher while intertwining their other business activities and neglecting proper legal procedures amounts to an assault on editorial freedom. The Press Council Nepal has expressed serious concern over this matter.

The letter asserts that checking the authenticity of news falls under the jurisdiction of Press Council Nepal, not CAAN. The sub-committee’s meeting decided to delve into this matter further by consulting former chairs of the council and former presidents of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ).

Nepal’s challenging geographical isolation poses significant difficulties in accessing healthcare and delivering sustenance. Air services become indispensable for these essential needs. However, CAAN introduced a policy to suspend air services in remote districts after 12 pm starting July 31. This decision had severe repercussions in remote and mountainous regions of Nepal. Regrettably, due to the absence of air services, four children lost their lives in the remote areas of Karnali province as they couldn’t receive timely medical care due to CAAN's new policy.

After Annapurna Post, a sister publication of ApEx, highlighted the hardships facing people living in far-flung areas, the issue garnered considerable attention. Various media outlets, including BBC, Kantipur, and Radio Nepal, also covered similar stories, underscoring the urgency of government intervention to restore essential air services in remote regions of the country.

Despite appeals from the Chief Minister of Karnali province, the federal Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, political leaders and local representatives, CAAN chose not to lift air service restrictions. Instead, it targeted the media for exposing what was perceived as a misguided and callous decision.

In its letter, CAAN has accused AMN of ‘repeatedly disseminating news, analyses, and commentaries that severely jeopardize flight safety’. The letter further highlights that despite Capt Rameshwar Thapa’s position as the head of an airline company responsible for ensuring flight safety, he appears to have misused his publishing authority through his media, engaging in activities that spread misinformation and rumors.

Earlier, the FNJ and other press unions such as Nepal Press Union, Press Chautari Nepal, Socialist Press Organization Nepal, Forum of Nepalese Journalist and Madhesi Journalist Society Nepal warned CAAN to immediately withdraw its letter seeking clarification from AMN as the move is beyond its jurisdiction.

The parties have agreed to form a high-level inquiry commission to investigate the gold smuggling case.

A meeting of the nationally recognized parties held in Singha Durbar on Wednesday agreed to form a inquiry commission.

As per the agreement, the government will form the commission on September 22 and it will start the work from the same day.

Meanwhile, the major political parties have signed a two-point agreement to end the House impasse.

The first point of the agreement states that the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police will continue its investigation into the gold smuggling case from the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 18 and the CIB itself will prosecute the people involved in the case.

An inquiry commission will be formed to investigate the gold smuggling cases including the July 18 case in an independent and impartial manner, states the second point of agreement.

The government on Wednesday endorsed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s New York visit.

A Cabinet meeting held this morning endorsed PM Dahal’s New York visit, Minister of Communication and Information Technology and government spokesperson Rekha Sharma said.

Leading a Nepali delegation, Prime Minister Dahal will leave for New York to take part in the 78^th General Assembly of the United Nations on the proposal of Foreign Ministry.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has submitted the investigation report on the Lalita Niwas land-grab case to the District Government Attorney’s Office, Kathmandu.

The bureau has suggested that those arrested in the case be prosecuted for forgery and organized crime. After a 57-day investigation, it has recommended prosecution of more than 200 individuals. As part of the probe, the CIB had also recorded statements of two former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai. The duo has been cleared by CIB and not named on the list of defendants. 

The bureau has recommended the government not to prosecute those who have returned the land.
Police had taken a statement from former minister and Congress leader Vijay Kumar Gachchdar in the case on Monday evening. Statements of former minister Chandradev Joshi and former state minister Sanjay Shah were also recorded. Police have not been able to take the statement of former minister Dambar Shrestha, who remains at large. All the four former ministers have been made defendants.

The CIB has submitted a report with four separate opinions with the conclusion that the land belonging to Lalita Niwas was misappropriated on four different occasions, when approximately 143 ropanis of land was unlawfully registered in the names of various individuals.

Earlier, the CIB issued arrest warrants against 406 individuals including several high-profile officials.
The bureau started investigating the case in 2019 in relation to forged documents and fake governmental stamps related to Lalita Niwas land transactions. In Jan 2022, it concluded its investigation and submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, recommending further action against around 300 individuals involved in the scam. 

However, a week later, the government attorney returned the report, stating that additional investigation was necessary.

The government at the time asked the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and CIB to promptly investigate the case of Lalita Niwas after the Trital committee submitted their report to the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

After a year-long investigation, the CIAA filed a charge-sheet against 175 individuals at the Special Court in Feb 2020, accusing them of participating in the illegal registration of Lalita Niwas land in the name of various individuals.