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Case 1

Revati Thapa, 29, and her nine-month-old daughter Ritu were burnt alive in their house at Thapa Tol in Triveni-2 of Salyan on September 16. Police later arrested Revati’s ex-boyfriend, Karna Bahadur Basnet, for investigation. Police suspect that Karna was seeing Revati even after her marriage, and that he might have committed the crime out of jealousy. 

Case 2 

Bhavana BK, 28, of Saankha in Rukum West was found murdered in a hotel room in Musikot on Oct 17. Police arrested Lok Bahadur BK, 30, of Simli in Rukum West in connection to the crime. Investigation revealed that Bhavana was in a relationship with Lok Bahadur while her husband was in a foreign country for employment. Police say Lok Bahadur had borrowed Rs 500,000 from Bhavana, and that he murdered her after she pressed him to return the money. Prior to his arrest, Lok Bahadur was in jail for polygamy and had just got out after President Ram Chandra Poudel pardoned him on the Constitution Day. 

Case 3 

Rupesh Swarnakar, a school headmaster from Madrasa Tol in Kalaiya-6 of Bara, was fatally shot on October 30. He died while receiving treatment in Birgunj. Police later found out that Rupesh’s lover and school accountant Radha Gupta had hired gunmen from India to have him murdered. Radha resorted to the crime after Rupesh, a father of two, reportedly refused to marry her.

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The above tales are but a glimpse into the crimes that are taking place every other day due to extramarital affairs. Such relationships are causing families to disintegrate, leaving innocent children helpless. 

Sociologist and professor Dambar Chemjong reflects on the evolution of extramarital affairs and the rise in crimes of passion in modern Nepali society. He attributes the increase in the number of extramarital affairs and crimes relating to such a relationship to technology.

“There used to be fewer cases in the past. But with the age of technology, people now have gained freedom, and the means of meeting different individuals. There is a growing tendency to share things with others under the pretext of alleviating tension.”

Chemjong adds: “Couples are also spending more time away from each other because one of them is working away from home. When a couple has not met for an extended period, they become suspicious of each other, and extramarital affairs tend to flourish. Foreign employment is also a significant factor contributing to the rise in extramarital affairs.”

Senior Superintendent of Police Dinesh Mainali, spokesperson for the Kathmandu Valley Police Office, believes that the combination of unemployment opportunities at home and heavy social media use is causing the rise in cases of infidelity and crimes as a result of such illicit affairs.  

“Casual relationships are being formed on social media just to pass the time and in some cases these relationships evolve into something more. Even married individuals are falling in this trap,” says Mainali. “We have observed that lovers commit crimes like murder and assault when they are unable to manage their extramarital affairs.”

Former deputy inspector general (DIG) of Nepal Police, Hemanta Malla Thakuri, expresses concern that the increasing prevalence of extramarital affairs is not good news for society. 

“If a relationship is not healthy, it can lead to criminal activities,” he says. “This applies not only to extramarital affairs but to every relationship. Any relationship that is uncomfortable and strained can be fatal.”

DIG Kuber Kadayat, spokesperson for Nepal Police, says that individuals involved in extramarital affairs often refrain from reporting incidents of violence with the police. 

“Many opt to keep such matters private out of fear of being exposed for having extramarital affairs. This, in turn, can escalate into heinous crimes,” he adds.

Psychiatrist Karuna Kunwar says people normally resort to crime when they are unable to control their anger and passion. She says if one is careful about keeping their emotions in check, illicit love affairs and crimes relating to extramarital relationships could be lowered.

“In most cases, misunderstandings and ego between partners are the main reasons behind extramarital affairs. When the emotion and intimacy between a couple start to disappear, they seek outside relationships for mental happiness,” says Kunwar. “Not appreciating each other’s desires, not listening to each other, not speaking your mind, and not having time for each other can cause a rift in the relationship.”

Advocate Priya Hari Bhandari says that being involved in a romantic relationship with other individuals while being married is illegal and has a far-reaching impact on families and society. 

“Extramarital affairs have repercussions on the family, children, and society at large. In case of disagreements between the couple, efforts should be made to resolve the issues,” says Bhadari. “If the relationship is not working, the couple can always opt for legal separation.”

Foreign policy is a set of goals, policies and strategies aimed at promoting national interest through effective conduct of external relations. Most importantly, it has permanent and changeable features. According to Frederick H Hartmann, it is a ‘Systematic statement of deliberately selected national policies’. George Modelski defines foreign policy as the system of activities evolved by communities for changing the behavior of other states and for adjusting their own activities to the international environment. Hence, it is generally designed to protect and promote a country’s national interest, security, economic prosperity and independent international image.

Nepal aims to protect its core national interest and secure these interests through its foreign policy (Foreign Policy 2077). The policy, an attempt at clarifying Nepal’s policy to the internal and external audiences, highlights the country’s constitutional provisions, including directive principles, and tries to incorporate its fundamental objectives. Apart from guiding internal affairs of Nepal, the policy also helps development partners, neighboring countries, academicians, foreign policy experts, researchers and others get a clear picture of its objectives and goals.

Nepal’s foreign policy is characterized by continuity and change because it is guided not only by constitutional provisions but also by ages-old principles of peaceful co-existence (Panchasheel), non-alignment, world peace and international law.

For the promotion and protection of national interest, a foreign policy has to adjust to the changing political and economic contexts as well as the unexpected exigencies relating to new emergencies issues of health, ecology and technology, among others, by keeping the above-mentioned characteristics at the core. Foreign policy 2077 emphasizes soft power, multidimensional connections with other countries, revision of bilateral treaties, Nepali diaspora, resolution of border disputes, labor diplomacy, public diplomacy, track II diplomacy and climate change issues, making it a bit different from previous foreign policies.

Given contemporary international politics and our geostrategic location, the policy demands widespread and multidimensional cooperation involving government-to-government, people-to-people and business-to-business engagements with the international community. 

Our foreign policy also emphasizes multidimensional connectivity networks in this globalized world, including transnational roadways, railways, waterways, airways, optical fibers and electricity transmission lines. Such international networks can play a crucial role in the transformation of least developed countries (LDCs) to developing ones.

Although foreign policy 2077 is much more detailed than previous foreign policies, challenges remain when it comes to getting desired results through this instrument. Nepal needs to identify new areas of collaboration driven by shared interests to get benefits from technology transfers and strengthen diplomatic missions further.

Our unique geostrategic location between two Asian giants India and China means we need to maintain cordial, balanced, friendly and cooperative relations with both the neighbors to achieve the desired and set goals of foreign policy. 

We also need to know that conduct of foreign policy is not the exclusive domain of Foreign Ministry as the private sector, civil society, non-government organizations, professionals and state as well as non-state actors all have important roles to play. 

Most of the time, our foreign policy is punctuated by hyper-populism and often not dictated by principles due to political influence. This calls for an effective mechanism for the execution of foreign policy. Our political parties often pick individuals lacking even minimum standards and knowledge of diplomacy as ‘diplomats’, so the focus should be on improving professional skills and efficiencies of diplomats and officials working in Nepali missions abroad.

Nepal has struggled with many ups and downs and undergone various political translations. Time has come for the country to use economic diplomacy as a major aspect of foreign policy to achieve national prosperity and make every Nepali happy.

Formulation of a national consensus-based foreign policy and its full implementation is a must to realize this goal. 

Seventeen years ago today, the Nepal government and the then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), declaring an end to the decade-long armed conflict. 

It was the dawn of a new political chapter for Nepal. The CPA led to the epochal political changes, such as abolition of centuries-old monarchy in 2008 and promulgation of new federal republican constitution in 2015. 

Under the new constitution, Nepal has already held two periodic elections of three-tier governments—federal, provincial and local governments. The Maoist party has embraced parliamentary democracy and the management of Maoist combatants, one of the vital tasks of the peace process, has been completed. 

Among other notable progress are greater representation of ethnic communities and women in state mechanisms and devolution of powers to the local level with decentralization of services. In fact, Nepal today is regarded as one of the most open, democratic, and inclusive societies in South Asia.

But it has not been all positives. 

The issue of transitional justice still remains pending and thousands of conflict victims are still awaiting justice; the social-economic transformation envisaged by the CPA still eludes the country; and the major parties’ failure to deliver, mainly on service delivery and economic fronts, has caused frustrations among people.

Put simply, Nepal continues to grapple with the age-old problems caused by poor political leadership. The country’s economy is in shambles, corruption is entrenched, and job opportunities are hard to come by. Successive governments, all led by the three big parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, and CPN (Maoist Center)—at one time or another, have failed to address these issues. 

This failure has eroded people’s faith in the system, and some traditional rightist forces are trying to exploit this crisis of trust to undo the progress made so far. Talks about restoration of monarchy, dismantling federalism and reverting to a Hindu nation are gaining traction. 

Of late, there have been systematic efforts to sabotage the 2015 constitution, one of the major achievements of CPA. Already, there are indications of fraying social harmony and religious tolerance, something unprecedented in Nepal’s recent political history. 

“It is imperative that all political parties that champion democracy and republicanism  collectively stand up against regressive elements,” says CPN-UML leader Deepak Prakash Bhatta. 

He warns if the transitional period that began with signing of CPA prolongs, all the political gains for which the people and political parties fought for could be at risk.   Suman Adhikari, a conflict-victim, says leaders of major political parties used the peace process as a ladder to reach to power and abandoned the agenda of conflict-victims. 

“We are fed up with hollow promises and rhetorics. There has been little progress when it comes to providing justice to us.”  Adhikari adds: “The issue of weapon management was a threat to the politicians, so they resolved it immediately. But when it comes to us powerless victims, they are happy to stay quiet.”  The two transitional justice bodies formed to investigate and settle the conflict-era crimes are without any office-bearers for a long time, while the laws governing the transitional justice process also need amendments.  

But even after the amendments to the laws and formation of a fully functioning all-acceptable transitional justice commissions, it could take years to investigate all war-era cases.  Although Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is seeking the support of political parties as well as the international community to conclude the peace process, it is easier said than done. 

Dahal wants to conclude the peace process under his leadership because he and other senior leaders from his party are the ones facing cases of war crimes and human rights violations. The Maoist prime minister wants to ensure safe landing for himself and his party leaders who could technically be arrested anywhere under the universal jurisdiction of human rights. 

While addressing the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) earlier this year, Dahal sought the support of the international community to conclude the peace process. He repeated this during his Beijing trip after meeting with communist party leaders as well. Amid pressure not to opt for blanket amnesty when it comes to cases of serious crimes and human rights violation, the prime minister has been assuring the international community that the transitional justice process will be in line with the international practice. 

“We are now closer to logically concluding our unique, nationally owned, and home-grown peace process. Completing the remaining tasks of transitional justice is on my top political agenda,” Dahal told the UNGA. “As prime minister and a co-signatory of the Comprehensive Peace Accord, I have been making serious efforts to bridge the gap and gaps and build consensus among key stakeholders.”

But not everyone is convinced, certainly not the conflict victims.  

“We are the major stakeholder in the transitional justice process, and yet they are the ones whose concerns and voices are being neglected by the government and major political parties,” says Adhikari. The Dahal-led government has presented an amendment bill related to transitional justice in Parliament which has again drawn criticisms from the international community for its shortcomings. 

The prime minister has defended the bill stating that it evolved through a wider consultative process, while taking a victim-centric approach and recognizing reparation as victims’ right.

In his address to the UNGA, Prime Minister Dahal said: “There will be no blanket amnesty for serious violations of human rights. The ultimate objective is to establish an enduring peace in the country and foster harmony in society through peace, justice and reconciliation.”  He also appealed to the international community for their goodwill and support to the conclusion of the final leg of the peace process and to duly recognize this rare example of successful conflict transformation.

But forging a consensus on the transitional justice process is still an uphill task for the Dahal government. He has yet to bring other political parties, including the main opposition, CPN-UML, into confidence on the contents of the law. Dahal worked very hard to endorse the transitional justice bill from the winter session of Parliament but he failed to do so.

Observers say Prime Minister Dahal may not have his moment of glory by concluding the peace process so long as the other two main political parties—Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—continue to use the issue of transitional justice as a political bargaining chip.    All political parties must take the onus to deliver justice to the conflict victims, but this has not been the case so far. 

Political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta says the CPA only managed direct confrontation between the state and non-state actors, while giving birth to a society-centric conflict.  “Nepali politics and parties failed to embrace the spirit of the peace accord. As a result, there are still problems in society. Some of the residues of conflict are yet to be addressed which is a prerequisite to achieve a durable peace in society.”  Nepal needs a wider political consensus to conclude its long-drawn-out peace process and to eventually embrace the path of growth and prosperity, which has not happened in the past 17 years.

Kathmandu District Administration Office (DAO)  has declared the sensitive stretch between Maitighar Mandala and Baneshwor area a prohibited zone for 30 days starting Monday. 

The stretch covers Padmodaya Mod-Singhadurbar (West Gate), Supreme Court-Maitighar Mandala and Maitighar Mandala-New Baneshwor. 

Clause 6 (3A) of the Local Administration Act, 2028 bars the congregation of more than five people at a riot-hit area or if there’s a possibility of riots in an area. 

The reading of the ‘riot act’ comes after the DAO made it clear that it won’t let neither Durga Prasain (a pro-royalist) nor Mahesh Basnet (a CPN-UML leader) organize demonstrations at the nerve center of Maitighar Mandala, given concerns related to peace and security. 

In reference to the rival groups’ plans to ‘show their respective strength’ simultaneously at Maitighar Mandala on Nov 23, Assistant Chief District Officer Rabindra Prasad Acharya told ApEx earlier that they won’t allow either of the protesting party to organize their programs at Maitighar Mandala, given its proximity to major hospitals, ministries, courts and schools. “We won’t allow the opposing sides to organize programs at the same place, time and date,” he added, “We have told them to conduct their programs at separate venues.”

In line with the DAO’s decision, the UML-aligned Yuva Sangh has relocated their demonstration at Tinkune. However, Prasain’s side has not responded to DAO’s ruling yet.

Acharya said the DAO was in constant contact with both sides, and the latter were okay with separate venues for their respective programs. “We will ensure security for both sides,” he said. 

The Yuva Sangh has announced a ‘demonstration of youth and students against the government and anarchists’ on Nov 23, while Prasain plans to launch a ‘nation, nationality, religion, culture, and civil protection campaign’ at the same time and place, giving rise to fear of clashes.

Of late, Basnet and Prasain, a former leftist leader, have come to blows, verbally, pointing at worsening relations between the two political forces. The UML expressed dissatisfaction with Prasain after his statement alleging UML Chair KP Oli’s ‘huge investments’ in Cambodia. Prasain has also charged that Basnet was behind a recent incident where a youth painted black soot on his face. On his part, Basnet has blamed a group for creating obstructions at the behest of Prasain while he was heading to Jhapa for attending a program.

In view of possible clashes between the two sides, the Home Ministry has held discussions with Chief District Officers (CDOs) and police chiefs of all three districts of the Kathmandu valley.

Spokesperson at the Kathmandu Valley Police Office, SP Dinesh Raj Mainali, said CDOs, who chair respective District Security Committees, were working in close coordination to ensure security. “We have been closely monitoring the developments and assessing security threats,” he said, adding that their focus will be on keeping the peace.