Society

Why is Hamas not releasing Bipin?

Sameer Sharma

Dec. 1, 2023, 9:56 a.m.

Hamas is releasing more hostages as a shaky truce continues to hold in Gaza after the killing of more than 1,200 people in Oct 7 attacks and hostage-taking of as many as 240, including foreign nationals.

But it is yet to release Nepal’s Bipin Joshi, one of its hostages, days after the release of more than two dozen Thai nationals.

A few weeks back, the Israeli army had confirmed that Joshi was in the captivity of Hamas. As part of continuing efforts to secure Joshi’s release, Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud is traveling this week to Qatar, which is meditating between Israel and Hamas to secure the hostages’ release.

Meanwhile, parents of Joshi have been spending their days in anxiety and anticipation.

Since Oct 7, Bipin's parents and other family members have been keeping track of every news coming from Israel. After Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on Nov 24, they have been following TV news with hope to hear the good news.

Bipin's parents met Foreign Minister Saud, who was in his home district Kanchanpur earlier this week, requesting him to take immediate steps for a safe release of their son.

"I remain glued to the TV screen hoping that my son Bipin will be set free and call us. Our days are spent watching news," said Padma, Bipin's distraught mother. The government says it has been making ‘diplomatic efforts’ to secure Bipin's release. However, Mahananda Joshi feels the government should have done more to secure his son’s release.

"I feel that Bipin would have been released two or three days back had the government made vigorous efforts toward that end early on," Mahananda told RSS after Minister Saud pledged during a meeting with the Joshi couple in Mahendranagar (Kanchanpur) to intensify government efforts for the release of their son.

On Nov 24, Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, who was on a two-day official visit to Nepal, had promised to step up efforts for Bipin’s release, in response to a request from Minister Saud.