New Delhi
18 April 2006
Armed with a message from the Indian leadership, Member of
Parliament and the erstwhile ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Karan Singh, will travel to
Kathmandu on Wednesday to assess the situation in the strife-torn Himalayan kingdom
and report back to the Prime Minister in a couple of days. He is currently chairman of the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR.)
Meanwhile, in Geneva, three organisations -- Amnesty International, Human Rights
Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists -- on Tuesday demanded "targeted
sanctions" against Nepal and urged that that Nepal's King Gyanendra and his senior
officials and top military officers should be refused entry to other countries and have any
personal assets outside the country frozen. The organizations, which issued their call
during an international meeting in Geneva convened by the Government of Switzerland
to review Nepal's human rights record, also said India should work to implement the
sanctions immediately.
The official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday told reporters, "Dr
Karan Singh, Member of Parliament, will be visiting Nepal as the special envoy of the
Prime Minister from April 19, 2006. During his visit the special envoy is expected to
receive an audience with His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. He is also
expected to meet political party leaders in Nepal."
The spokesman, Mr Navtej Sarna, said the current political and economic situation in
Nepal was a cause for concern for India. "[There is a need for] genuine dialogue to
overcome the crisis," he observed and asserted that a solution ought to be found by the
"people of Nepal through a peaceful political settlement". India, he reiterated, was ready
to support all efforts that meet the needs of reconciliation and national consensus.
For his part, Dr Karan Singh, said the situation in Nepal was "deteriorating very rapidly,"
which a matter of grave concern for India. "I will asess the situation and talk to the King
and meet, if possible, the political parties," he said hours after the government
nominated him as the special envoy. Incidentally, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran is
expected to join Dr Singh in Kathmandu on Tuesday on his way back from Bhutan.
Dr Singh, however, reiterated that his visit should not be seen as interference in the
internal affairs of Nepal. That, he said, was not India's intention or the purpose of his
visit. "If Nepal dissolves into chaos, it will adverse effect on India's security," he
explained, and cited the long, comon border and how it might affect the movement of
goods, commodities and essential supplies.
Asked what solution he had in mind to the current crisis, Dr Karan Singh said, "I would
not want to speculate." He, however, said he was not going to Nepal with any readymade
solution but would only attempt to facilitate a solution. He was categorical though that the
Maoists would need to be involved "in due course" but not before the political parties
have got their act together.
"First the political parties have to restart the process with certain credibility," Dr Singh
elaborated. "It is important that the drift into chaos is halted quickly. India is committed
to parliamentary democracy and would want to facilitate entente," he said in response to
a question.
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