The Parliamentary Hearing Committee has rejected the nomination of Giri Bahadur Sunar as Nepal’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
The committee unanimously rejected Sunar’s nomination.
A complaint alleging violence against women had been filed against him. The government had recommended his name for the ambassadorial post on September 18. The committee rejected the nomination, concluding that he did not meet the required standards of high moral character.
Just before the decision-making process, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Ghazala Shamim Miya Mikrani told the committee that, following discussions, Sunar was unfit to be an ambassador from every perspective.
RSP Chief Whip and lawmaker Kabindra Burlakoti told the committee that although Sunar’s presentation, documents, and qualifications appeared satisfactory, questions about his moral character had arisen because of a past incident, making it necessary to reject his nomination.
Burlakoti noted that Sunar had done commendable work coming from the Dalit community. However, the nomination had to be rejected because of the desire to avoid controversies surrounding the prestigious position of representing the country as an ambassador, he added.
“An ambassador must have high moral standards. Although the incident involving him happened in the past, it was still seen as relevant to questions about his character,” Burlakoti said, adding, “Let us proceed with the decision-making process.”
Immediately afterward, committee chair Bodh Narayan Shrestha put forward a proposal to approve Sunar’s nomination. However, the committee unanimously rejected it.
