Reporting by N. P. Upadhyaya
Kathmandu/Islamabad: Nepal’s Ambassador to the Pakistani court, His Excellency Tapas Adhikari has made a courtesy call on the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Ambassador Adhikari met PM Khan on September 21, 2021, say Nepal embassy sources in Islamabad.

During the meet with the Pakistan Prime Minister, the Nepali envoy Mr. Adhikari conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes of Right Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba as well as from the people of Nepal for the personal health and happiness of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and continued progress and prosperity of friendly people of Pakistan.

Ambassador Mr. Adhikari expressed that the bilateral relations between Nepal and Pakistan have always been cordial based on goodwill, mutual trust and cooperation.

He further said that both the countries are founding fathers of the SAARC and hold similar views on SAARC, United nations, and other important international forums.

Ambassador Adhikari added Nepal’s desire for a deeper relation with Pakistan and said he would make sincere efforts to further enhance bilateral relations between Nepal and Pakistan.

Notably, Ambassador Adhikari was officially sent to Pakistan as Ambassador during the time when Nepal was being ruled by Communist Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli.

Now with the Apex Court’s express “orders” in the recent months, a new set of government in Nepal is functioning under the “leadership” of Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Prime Minister Deuba’s “soft” corner and political “inclination” for the Indian regime is an open secret for the intellectuals of the South Asian region.

Ambassador Adhikari, during the meet, highly appreciated His Excellency the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his vision to promote tourism in Pakistan and ventilated Nepal’s interest to work with Pakistan to promote tourism since both countries have high potentiality of cultural and adventure tourism.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan-the Pakistani Prime Minister recalled his visit to Nepal prior to joining active politics.

PM Khan assured the Nepali Ambassador Adhikari that he was ever ready to “work” with Nepal to further promote bilateral relations between our two countries.

Whether at the meeting between the Nepali envoy and the PM Khan, the recent developments in Afghanistan came up or not, no details so far have been made available to the media.

However, on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York, the meeting of the foreign ministers of SAARC got abruptly cancelled when the Nepali side opted to keep silence on matters on whether the Afghani representative of the previous government be allowed to attend the SAARC ministers’ conference or the session should be held with the participation of the representative of the new Afghani set up.

Nepal’s hesitancy halted the SAARC FM’s session.

Pakistan perhaps preferred the meet to be attended by the Taliban officials.

And conversely, India wanted the SAARC Foreign Ministers’ session run with the representative of the now defunct Ashraf Ghani’s government.

Corrupt Ghani’s government in Afghanistan was almost a proxy of PM Modi’s Indian government.

According to the Indian propaganda/disinformation machine, ANI that “Pakistan wanted Talibani government nominee to represent Afghanistan in SAARC Foreign Ministers’ meet later this week”.

Sources added that Pakistan had asked SAARC Chair, Nepal to give it in writing that Ghulam M Isaczai-Afghanistan’s government’s permanent representative-will not attend the meet.

Logic and wisdom demands that after the fall of Ghani’s government in Afghanistan, the new set up that is of the “people’s choice” be accorded the rightful seat at the SAARC meet also.

So what Pakistan demanded is the present reality in Afghanistan.

In yet another interesting turn of events as reported by The Express Tribune (tribune.com.pk) dated September 23, 2021, which says that ” a proposed SAARC Meeting was canceled after Pakistan’s objections that the annual gathering in New York would be inappropriate due to India’s ongoing atrocities in the India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir as well as the question of legal representations of Afghanistan”.

Media sources at the United nations say that “the Taliban(s) have duly applied to the UN Administration to represent Afghanistan in a process called “request for credentials”.

Sources also say that the Talibani request could consume comfortable time.

Good or bad, the Afghani-Taliban, now in the Afghani power set up happen to be the people’s choice and preference.
Nepal’s silence is only but the “fear” of being scolded by Modi and Shankar clique.

Some even claim that Nepal’s foreign policy is “pegged” with Indian foreign policy.

This should explain Nepal’s helplessness.

“The meeting proposed to be held in-person of September 25 on the sidelines of the US General Assembly in New York will not take place due to a ‘lack of concurrence from all member states’, the foreign ministry of Nepal, current Chair of the eight-member regional body, said in a note verbale to the SAARC Head Quarters in Kathmandu”, according to diplomatic sources, reports the New Age (Bangladesh) dated September 22, 2021.

To recall, Nepal is the current Chair of the SAARC regional body which is largely believed to have been “killed” or “murdered” by Prime Minister Modi’s Indian establishment.

SAARC Summits have not been held since several years only because India doesn’t want the next SAARC Summit should be held in Islamabad after Nepal’s turn of Chairmanship.

India wants Pakistan to be isolated in the South Asian region which is just a day dreaming exercise for India, to say the least.

While this is the ground reality, Pakistan too appears rather “dis-interested” in giving a new lease of life to the India killed SAARC regional body.

Needless to say, Pakistani diplomatic reluctance benefits India and by extension Nepal also for a variety of political reasons.

During the call on, Nepal’s Ambassador Mr. Adhikari was flanked by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary His Excellency Mr. Sohail Mahmood and high official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan were present at the high level meet. (See attached photo).

Such a meet on regular basis is what needs to be initiated in order to keep the bilateral ties in good shape.

Ambassador Tapas Adhikari’s sincere efforts in presenting Nepali views straight to the Prime Minister of Pakistan-Imran Khan, is highly appreciated.