After Nov Polls, A Decision To Be Taken About Hiring Gorkhas Under Agnipath Scheme: Nepal

After the new government is formed following the general elections on November 20, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said the country will decide whether to accept Gorkha soldiers into the Indian Army under the Agnipath programme.

Sewa Lamsal, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, stated during a press conference in Kathmandu that there is little prospect of an immediate decision being made about the plan of short-term enlistment into the Indian armed services.

The foreign ministry spokesperson’s comments were in response to media reports that Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande had stated that if the landlocked nation does not cooperate, India may be forced to withdraw openings for recruiting soldiers from Nepal under its new Agnipath scheme in the current cycle.

Last week, General Pande paid a visit to Nepal where he met with the country’s top authorities and held extensive discussions with his counterpart.

The Indian military’s short-term recruiting programme was supposed to start on August 24 with the recruitment of Gorkhas. Nepal, however, requested that it be delayed.

Representative for the Nepalese Foreign Ministry, “Nepal would not immediately hold discussion or debate the problem connected to the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers into the Indian Army with Indian authorities.”

The foreign ministry official stated that decisions about the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers into the Indian Army under the Agnipath initiative sponsored by India will be made by the new government that will be constituted following the November 20 general elections.