The Parliamentary Hearing Committee endorsed the appointment of 16 of the 17 ambassadorial nominees on Thursday.

However, the committee endorsed names of four nominees through a majority of the committee as some of the members of the hearing committee expressed their differing views on the decision to endorse them. Twelve nominees were endorsed unanimously.

The committee postponed the endorsement of Ramkrishna Bhattarai, the proposed ambassador to Sri Lanka, citing unavailability of his bachelor’s degree certificate.

Lawmakers from the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSP-Nepal) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) registered their differing views regarding the endorsement of Kapil Shrestha, Netra Prasad Timilsina, Dhan Prasad Pandit, and Shankar Sharma, proposed ambassadors to South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, and India, respectively.

The government nominated 17 individuals for various diplomatic postings. The nominations drew widespread criticism for allegedly neglecting inclusivity and ignoring established criteria for such positions. Kanta Rijal, who had been proposed as ambassador to Australia, was recalled due to performance concerns during her previous tenure in Israel. Later, the government recommended former lawmaker Chitra Lekha Yadav in her place.

The ambassadorial nominees made by the government are appointed by the President for the diplomatic missions after they are endorsed by the parliamentary hearing committee.