Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli has refuted concerns about joint military exercise of BIMSTEC member states and assured Nepal will not enter any military pact.
PM Oli said so responding to the queries of lawmakers after he briefed the parliament Tuesday afternoon about the BIMSTEC Summit. "Nepal will not enter any military pact and does not believe in such thing," he stated addressing the queries about the joint military exercise of member states of BIMSTEC.
He argued that the Kathmandu Declaration of BIMSTEC also does not mention about joint military exercise. He then pointed how army personnel from different countries have been coming to study in military colleges of Nepal.
"We have been holding military exercises with India, Pakistan and China. Have happened with America (sic)," he stated. "Such trainings happen before sending our troops for UN peacekeeping forces."
Lawmakers Minendra Rizal, Divya Mani Rajbhandari, Prem Suwal, Ram Bahadur Bista and Bharat Kumar Shah had asked questions about joint military exercise of member states of BIMSTEC.
"I am surprised where has this military exercise come from?" Oli asked. "I am baffled at the questions of lawmakers who have already become minister."
Showing the Kathmandu Declaration he asked, "Can one see an attempt to turn BIMSTEC into a military pact?" He then read out the point about fighting terrorism. "It says one cannot explode bombs, continue to break limbs of children. Where has it talked about joint military exercise?" he added. "It is not so."
He pointed how army chief of Nepal Army is made honorary general of Indian Army and vice versa.
He also thanked the people of Kathmandu Valley for patiently bearing with different problems during the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held last week.
