Miscellaneous
Team to leave for Kabul to assess security
The government has decided to form a team to look into the concerned aspects of the terrorist attack in Kabul that claimed the lives of 13 Nepali security guards last month and make an assessment of the potential security risk facing Nepali migrants in Afghanistan.The government has decided to form a team to look into the concerned aspects of the terrorist attack in Kabul that claimed the lives of 13 Nepali security guards last month and make an assessment of the potential security risk facing Nepali migrants in Afghanistan.
Minister for Labour and Employment Deepak Bohara told Parliament on Saturday that the team of officials would leave for Afghanistan soon.
“Following the incident, the government has issued labour permits to some working in green zones as they were on annual leave. Since questions are being raised about the security situation of even those working in green zones, we are planning to send a team in 8-10 days to find out the reality,” said Bohara.
The security of an estimated 20,000 Nepali men and women believed to be currently working in Afghanistan has become a major concern after the tragedy, the biggest one involving Nepali migrants since the lynching of 12 Nepalis in Iraq in 2004.
Thirteen Nepalis working as security guards at the Canadian embassy in Kabul were killed when a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a minibus they were on board to work.
So far, a total of 8,614 Nepalis have acquired the work permit to go to Afghanistan, according to the Department of Foreign Employment. Officials estimate that the number of people going to Afghanistan through informal channels is even higher.
On June 23, three days after the attack, the government imposed a ban on Nepali citizens going to work in the war-torn country. It has also been facilitating the evacuation of workers willing to return home. More than 50 Nepalis working as security guards have returned from Afghanistan following the attack.