Nepal stops delivery of arms from Ukraine plane

Kathmandu, Sept 5: The Nepal government has stopped an Israeli company from delivering rocket launchers, ammunition and raw materials worth 1,41,6000 dollars to the Nepali Army, media reports said here today.

The then royal government had struck a deal with the company on January 3, 2005, The Himalayan Times quoted Home Minister Krishna Sitaula as saying.

The government had paid 180,000 dollars to the company on July 3, 2005, the minister said.

"On August 25, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) received a letter seeking permission for the flight of an Ukrainian cargo plane via Ahmedabad to Kathmandu. It was written by the New Delhi-based Embassy of Ukraine to the Embassy of Nepal on August 16," Home Minister Sitaula told the House.

"It is also understood that the deadline of the L/C was thrice extended because the company concerned could not deliver the consignment on time. Now the deadline has been set till October 30," Mr Sitaula said.

Immediately after the MoD received the letter from the Ukrainian embassy, it asked the Nepali Army about the details of the order and L/C.

"The Defence Secretary had also requested the Indian embassy in Kathmandu to ensure the Ukrainian plane was not provided air space," said Mr Sitaula.

"The government has no policy to buy arms and ammunition for now, because we do not need them," The Himalayan Times quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, the Press Secretariat of the King has said that its attention has been drawn to reports in the media, that arms were purchased during the official visit of Crown Prince Paras to Austria in March last year.

The objective of the visit of Prince Paras was to hand over a pair of rhinoceros gifted by the people of Nepal to the people of Austria, the secretariat said in a notice.

It has condemned the reports on the arms purchase as totally baseless, fabricated and motivated by malicious intent.

UNI

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