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The European Union Election Observer Mission contends that the constitutional provision for proportional representation in Nepal is flawed, in that the PR quota includes “well represented social groups such as Khas Arya”. Whether the PR system is flawed or not, it is beside the point. Our constitution is not flawless, and it will be amended as and when needed. But what to amend and when should be entirely up to Nepali actors. It is particularly baffling when responsible members of the international community—among them those who first defined the concept of sovereignty for nation-states no less—poke their nose into a purely internal matter for Nepal.

We fully support the prime minister when he says no attempt to disturb social harmony in Nepal will be tolerated. KP Sharma Oli, who now commands absolutely majority in federal as well as all seven provincial assemblies, is arguably the strongest prime minister of democratic Nepal. It is good to see that at least in his early days he is clearly spelling out our national interest, and making it crystal clear that the days when foreigners could openly meddle are over. The foreign ministry, under the competent hands of Pradeep Gyawali, also deserves credit for its swift and unambiguous rebuttal of the provocative observer mission report.

Foreign envoys in Kathmandu traditionally enjoyed outsize clout as our political leaders were always at their beck and call. There is no shortage of leaders in Nepal who have asked resident Indian envoys to place their children in good Indian universities, or those who have finagled cushy trips to China from resident Chinese envoys. Our MPs and ministers, over the years, have also been a little too eager to go on all-expenses junkets to the US or Europe, often by compromising the country’s interest.

It is too early to say whether Oli’s ministers will be any different. But early signs are encouraging. Now that Nepal has a constitution as well as a strong government elected under it, the prime minister also made it clear that political inputs from the outside are needed no more. Of course, if our foreign friends want to help Nepal in its new quest for equitable economic development, or if they are keen to pursue mutually beneficial deals, they are most welcome.

The new rule of engagement for foreign actors could not be simpler: if you want to do business in Nepal, you will have to learn to play by our rules, just like we play by yours when we are on your territory.

On March 15, in arguably the country’s biggest sporting achievement till date, the Nepali men’s cricket team secured the One Day International status. The new status allows the team to play ODI cricket for the next four years. In this period, besides the ODIs, the men in blue-and-red will also get to play in the InterContinental Cup, a com­petitive four-day precursor to the five-day Test cricket.

On his triumphant return home, skipper Paras Khad­ka said Team Nepal’s next target is the ODI World Cup. With the players having done their bit, he added som­berly, the onus is now on the government to improve Nepali cricket.

He was right on the mark. The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) was suspended by the International Cricket Council in 2016 due to excessive government interference. In its absence, domestic cricket has suffered and Nepal’s international participation been severely curtailed. Without the lifting of the ICC sanctions on CAN, it will be hard to build a robust domestic base, the only surefire way to do well in international cricket.

In the meantime Nepal can play ODIs even with the sanctions. Having secured the ODI status, Nepal gov­ernment can now directly negotiate with other Test- and ODI-playing countries for bilateral (or trilateral) games. During his recent Nepal visit, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had hinted of ‘cricket diplomacy’ with Nepal. This is the perfect time to not only approach Pakistan, but also our other cricketing neighbors like India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Perhaps the biggest signal of the seriousness to improve Nepali cricket would be for the new government to immediately resolve the old row over CAN leadership and appoint a new, non-polit­ical governing body consisting strictly of ex-cricket­ers. No more politicians or their henchmen running Nepali cricket, please. The paltry pays and perks of Nepali cricketers should also be raised. This in turn will prompt other youngsters to take up the game as a viable career option.

The next four years will be make-or-break period for Nepali cricket. If Nepal cannot capitalize on this rare opportunity, there is no shortage of countries that are keen to snatch Nepal’s ODI rights. If that is allowed to happen due to continued neglect and political interfer­ence, it would be a huge breach of trust of millions of Nepali cricket fans.

Accidents happen. On March 11—the day before the US-Bangla aircraft crashed at the TIA killing 51 people, including 22 Nepali nationals—a Turkish plane had crashed in Iran; all 11 on board died. On the same day, a sightseeing helicopter crashed in New York (five dead). Even on the day of the US-Bangla crash at the TIA, another small private airplane had crashed in Chicago (no casualty).

But all aviation-related accidents have a cause. For a modern aircraft with all its safety equipment to crash, something, somewhere should be badly amiss. A commercial passenger jet, like the one that came down at the TIA on March 12, is particularly tailored to deal with any kind of on-air emergency.

From what has emerged about the TIA crash in the media thus far, a few things become instantly clear. There was a clear gap in communication between the air traffic controllers (ATCs) at the TIA and the US-Ban­gla pilots. It appears that the two pilots were confused about the exact approach of landing. This is surprising as the aircraft’s captain was said to be experienced in landing at the TIA. Perhaps he was tired and disorient­ed: reportedly, the Dhaka-Kathmandu flight was the captain’s fifth of the day.

The air traffic controllers, for their part, appeared incoherent and failed to give clear instructions to the aircraft on how to proceed with the landing. But, as our main story this week clarifies, the final decision on landing the plane and keeping the passengers safe was with the in-flight captain. He could have chosen to land from any direction he saw fit. Which brings us to the gist of the matter: the most tragic aspect of this accident is that it could have been averted.

To ensure that such accidents are not repeated, our ATCs need to be better trained to communicate clearly in English, the language of international avi­ation. The accident should also spur authorities to expedite the process of TIA’s expansion. It badly needs another runway. Or perhaps speeding up ongoing con­struction works on the two alternate international air­ports is the right way to go about it.

But it is as much a responsibility of international air­lines to make sure that their pilots are in proper mental and physical shape to fly. It would be unjust to blame the ATCs alone.

Yes, accidents do happen. But a lot can be done to minimize the chances.  

The inclusion of Upendra Yadav-led Sanghi­ya Samajbadi Forum gives the government of KP Sharma Oli over two-third majority in the federal lower house. As we went to press, the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), the other big Madhesi party besides the Forum, was also said to be ‘positive’ about joining the government. If the RJPN does indeed join, the ruling left coalition will, effective­ly, have absolute control over the federal government as well as all seven provincial governments, including in Province 2 that is ruled by a Forum-RJPN coalition.

This would make KP Sharma Oli, the leader of the left coalition, perhaps the most powerful prime minister of democratic Nepal. But PM Oli does not stop there. From now on the Prime Minister’s Office will directly oversee such vital state organs as the National Inves­tigation Department (which works on national securi­ty), the Department of Revenue Investigation (which investigates possible leakage of taxpayer money), and the Department of Anti-Money Laundering. Oli-led PMO will also directly oversee the functioning of NGOs and form think-tanks to advise the government on var­ious issues of national concern.

The prime minister, as such, will enjoy sweeping powers. This is not necessarily bad. This can be a sign that PM Oli aims to be a no-nonsense, hands-on prime minister. Nepal has long been saddled by weak prime ministers who were either uninterested in exercising their authority for the common good, or could not do so for various constraints of coalition politics. PM Oli, who hopes to make the PMO a ‘center of excellence’, now has few of these constraints.

In this light, this could be a start of a new era of good governance and accountability. It could also help bring the country together, if the prime minister is indeed serious about his commitment to amend the constitution to meet at least some demands of the Madhesi parties.

But there is also a risk. As the chairman of CPN-UML, a party that has come to be linked with various vested interests, particularly in health and education sectors, Oli could just as easily use his vast powers to strength­en and expand his patronage networks. If so, he will not be the first post-1990 prime minister of Nepal to abuse his authority. But for his sincere outreach to the Madhesi parties, his appointment of clean and capa­ble ministers in key portfolios and the can-do attitude on display in his early days as prime minister, PM Oli deserves our benefit of doubt for now.