The government has extended the term of Nepali Ambassador to India Shankar Prasad Sharma by fifteen days, after being recalled weeks ago by the Pushpa Kamal Dahal administration.

A minister told the Post that a Cabinet meeting on Monday decided to give Sharma a half-month extension. However, the decision has not been relayed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi.

Ruling party leaders, especially those from the Nepali Congress, had communicated to Sharma not to return to Kathmandu immediately due to the unfolding political situation here.

Sharma was appointed the ambassador to India in March, 2022 in the Congress quota. The new foreign minister, Arzu Rana, belongs to the Congress party.

Sharma is among the 11 ambassadors recalled by the coalition government of the CPN-UML, the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party on June 6. Most of them have arrived in Kathmandu and reported to the foreign ministry.

Sharma is the only ambassador to get an extension due to some technical reasons and the change in political equation in Kathmandu, officials at the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Sharma had also requested the foreign ministry for more time to return citing that he has not completed farewell calls in New Delhi including to S Jaishankar, the external affairs minister.

Sharma's recall, days before the visit of the previous prime minister Dahal to India, had courted controversy.

Although the government clarified that recalling ambassadors is regular business, experts had cautioned that recalling Sharma just ahead of Dahal’s visit for the inauguration of Narendra Modi’s third term as India’s prime minister last month sent a negative message and dented the country’s diplomatic image.

Upon return, Dahal admitted his “mistake” of having not considered the sensitivity and timing of Sharma's recall.

Speaking to reporters on June 6, then-minister for communication and information technology, Rekha Sharma, clarified that there was no connection between the decision to recall the ambassadors and Dahal's India visit.

The same Dahal-led government then recommended former ambassador and chief secretary Lok Darshan Regmi to replace Sharma. It also recommended ambassadors for eight countries. However, their status is in limbo, said a senior foreign ministry official.

With the Congress now in power, whether Sharma's job in Delhi will continue or Regmi, recommended in the quota of CPN-UML, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s party, will get the go-ahead, is unclear, according to foreign ministry officials.

What to do with the ambassador nominees is a political decision, said a joint-secretary at the foreign ministry. The further process like sending the names of the nominees to the parliamentary hearing special committee is yet to be done.

With the change in government, a comprehensive review of ambassadorial appointments may be done but the issue has not been discussed among the ruling parties, political leaders said.

The Oli-led government is likely to recall more ambassadors appointed under the quotas allotted to the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the CPN (Unified Socialist).

Recommended by the two parties, four ambassadors are currently serving in China, Russia, Australia and South Africa. The government might recall them and adjust the new appointments, a Congress leader suggested.

Amrit Rai, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said he is not aware of extra time given to Sharma to wrap up his engagements in Delhi. Sharma did not answer the Post’s repeated phone calls.