The British Gurkha Satyagraha United Struggle Committee has issued an ultimatum to the Nepal government, calling for progress on what it describes as long-standing grievances over the pay, pensions, recognition and treatment of British Gurkha veterans.

The committee is part of tripartite talks involving the governments of Nepal and the United Kingdom and Gurkha veterans campaigning for reforms.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Friday, the committee said it would resume peaceful protests, including hunger strikes and solidarity actions in Nepal and the UK, if its demands are not addressed by December 31, 2026.

Several rounds of talks have been held in London to address the veterans’ demands, but they have yet to produce a settlement. The UK and Nepal governments have been engaged in bilateral discussions for more than four years, following hunger strikes in 2021 by Gurkha veterans Gyanraj Rai, Dhan Gurung and Pushpa Rana Ghale.

A former Nepali ambassador to the UK said the British government had proposed the idea of a package settlement for Gurkha veterans who have long campaigned against disparities in pay and pensions. But no agreement has been reached between the veterans and the British government, the former ambassador said.

The veterans’ campaign has continued for decades. According to the committee, more than 20,000 Gurkha veterans have died since the campaign began, while elderly pensioners continue to die before their demands are resolved.

The veterans are seeking pension parity with British Army personnel and the implementation of provisions they say arise from the 1947 Tripartite Agreement, among other demands.

In 2009, with the support of British actress Joanna Lumley, Gurkhas who had retired before 1997 won the right to settle in the UK. Campaigners, however, continued to seek equal pensions and welfare benefits for veterans who retired before 1997.

The UK government rejected those demands, prompting former Gurkhas to stage hunger strikes in 2013 and 2021, lasting 15 and 13 days respectively. Following the protests, the British government agreed to hold talks, but campaigners say the process has been repeatedly delayed or disrupted by changes in the UK government.

The committee, led by chief coordinator Krishna Bahadur Rai, said its demands stem from what it regards as unequal treatment of Gurkhas who served in the British Army. It cited the 1923 Britain-Nepal Friendship Treaty and the 1947 Tripartite Agreement as key foundations for its claims.

According to the letter, Gurkha representatives have taken part in government-to-government discussions since 2017. A technical committee formed as part of the process produced a report in 2018 proposing reforms to address the veterans’ grievances. The committee says subsequent negotiations have failed to produce a comprehensive settlement.

It also referred to the 2021 hunger strike and other peaceful protests. According to the committee, an agreement reached in August that year provided for Gurkha grievances to be addressed through government-to-government talks, with the 2018 Technical Committee Report serving as a reference.

Among its main demands, the committee is seeking a fully costed and binding implementation schedule covering 11 financial issues that it says were identified in the 2018 report and incorporated into the 2021 framework.

It is also seeking a written response to correspondence from its independent adviser, retired Lieutenant Colonel Hamish Adams, on the constitutional and service identity of British Gurkhas.

The committee has called for the release of historical records relating to Gurkha recruitment and terms of service, citing the UK’s Public Records Act and arguing that greater transparency is needed.

Retrospective pension parity is another central issue. The committee argues that previous changes to Gurkha pension arrangements demonstrate that retrospective adjustments are possible. It also disputes the treatment of earlier periods of Gurkha service and says their service should be recognised on an equal basis.

The committee said the issue has become increasingly urgent because of the age of surviving veterans. It claimed that more than 20,000 affected veterans have died since campaigns over Gurkha grievances began.

The group also referred to Nepal’s 2022 decision to suspend the recruitment of Nepali citizens into the Indian Army following changes to India’s military recruitment system. It suggested that a review of UK recruitment arrangements could become necessary if its demands remain unresolved.

The committee’s letter calls for Gurkhas who joined the British Army between January 1, 1948, and September 30, 1993, to be treated equally and for the Tripartite Agreement to be honoured.

The committee said it remained willing to meet the Nepal government to seek what it described as a “just and lasting resolution”. If its December 31 deadline is not met, it said it would resume peaceful protests and hunger strikes in Nepal and the UK.