A day after the Supreme Court issued an interim order to the government not to implement the decision to recall 11 ambassadors appointed by the previous government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday wrote to the envoys to return home by November 6.

On September 16, the Sushila Karki administration had recalled envoys from 11 countries and asked them to return by November 6. But the Supreme Court on Sunday, acting on a writ petition, issued an interim order to the government not to implement the recall decision.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Paudel Kshetri confirmed to the Post that all 11 envoys have been asked in writing to return home Thursday, as decided earlier.

A joint bench of Supreme Court justices Sharanga Subedi and Shreekant Poudel had on Sunday issued an interim order to the government not to recall the ambassadors.

The top court concluded that the decision could affect Nepal’s relations with the host countries and questioned the rationale behind the recalls.

As the government had told them to return by the first week of November, almost all envoys had concluded their farewell calls in the host countries and were prepared to return to Kathmandu by the stipulated date.

Acting on the ministry’s instructions, all 11 embassies had communicated to the foreign ministries of the respective countries that the head of missions were leaving soon, as per the decision of Nepal government.

As the embassies already communicated about the government’s decision, it would be morally and politically difficult for the ambassadors to continue their responsibilities, a foreign ministry official said. “The prime minister consulted some ministers and quickly sent letters to the envoys to return and start working at the foreign ministry.”

The latest recall decision was taken by Prime Minister Karki, who also oversees the foreign portfolio, on Monday itself.

“As multiple Supreme Court verdicts contradict each other, the government decided to carry out its own decision,” the official said. “As there is no uniformity in the court’s rulings, the prime minister, in the capacity of foreign minister, took the decision.”

Once the envoys return, they will have to work at the foreign ministry as per the decision, said Kshetri.

During a recent interaction with editors and journalists, Prime Minister Karki had clarified her decision to recall the envoys, most of whom were appointed by the immediate past KP Sharma Oli government, which was ousted by the Gen Z movement in September.

“Some ambassadors briefed the host governments that my government is temporary and will not complete its term. Some ambassadors were involved in financial matters while the performance of some ambassadors was really bad,” Karki told journalists justifying her decision.

They have been formally notified to report for duty while remaining under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On July 29 last year, the former Oli government had appointed ambassadors to 17 countries, including Australia. Out of them, the Karki government retained six.

The ambassadors who have been recalled are Krishna Prasad Oli (China), Shail Rupakheti (Germany), Dhan Prasad Pandit (Israel), Netra Prasad Timilsina (Malaysia), Ramesh Chandra Paudel (Qatar), Jung Bahadur Chauhan (Russia), Naresh Bikram Dhakal (Saudi Arabia), Sunil Nepal (Spain), Chandra Kumar Ghimire (United Kingdom), Lokdarshan Regmi (United States), and Durga Bahadur Subedi (Japan).

There is a debate over whether recalling ambassadors is the prerogative of the government. Due to frequent government changes in Nepal, almost every government has been recalling ambassadors as soon as they assume office, which sends a negative message to the host countries, said one ambassador who is in the list of recall.

However, six ambassadors appointed by the same Oli government are not on the recall list as some of them are doing well and there is also a need to maintain an ethnic and gender balance—three female and two ambassadors from Dalit and Janajati communities have been retained. Shankar Sharma, who was reappointed by the Oli government, has also been allowed to continue in India.