Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has said that all files related to corruption that were halted due to political connections and influence will now be reopened.

Aryal made the remarks after inspecting the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on Friday.

Stating that conducting the parliamentary elections in March was the interim government’s major responsibility, Aryal said good governance is essential to maintain law and order and peace in the society. It is necessary to reopen the corruption-related files that were stalled due to political connections, he added.

“Whatever was halted or derailed due to political connections will no longer be tolerated. And you will see a breakthrough soon. You may have seen what happened in the past—how things were halted due to political connections, how certain matters were derailed. That will not happen anymore," Aryal said.

The mandate of this government is good governance, he said, without good governance, there can be no peace and security.

And without ensuring law and order, it won’t even be possible to hold elections within six months, Aryal said.

The head of the CIB, Manoj KC, briefed the minister about the tasks currently the investigative agency is carrying out. Aryal instructed KC not to halt any investigation under outside influence. KC had earlier played a key role in investigating the fake Bhutanese refugee scam before he was transferred to another department.

Aryal told reporters that failure to ensure good governance was a key reason behind the dissolution of the previous government and the elected body [Parliament].

He said that good governance is the first and foremost priority of this government. “We must figure out how to promote it. What should our immediate priorities be?,” Aryal stated before leaving the CIB. “In the past, political connections created obstructions in governance—especially in the investigation of financial and economic crimes, and corruption-related cases. We must now remove those barriers. That is the directive I have given to the investigating agency.”

He further instructed that the investigative body must work professionally while carrying out its duties. If investigations that should not have been halted were indeed stalled, or if there are new issues that need to be investigated, those must also move forward without any compromise, he further clarified.