The Nepalese Army’s no-show at the inaugural BIMSTEC military exercise and the absence of its Army chief at the chiefs’ conclave in Pune is getting more curious.
One report from Kathmandu now says that the Nepalese Army headquarters did not think it necessary to take the government’s permission about its participation in the multilateral field exercise since there was no financial implication involved.
Normally, when the Nepalese Army contingents travel to India for bilateral exercises, they travel by an Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft. Once in India, their transport, stay and hospitality is the responsibility of the Indian hosts. Thus, there are no expenses that the Nepalese Army has to incur. In the case of BIMSTEC exercise too, the same arrangement was to apply. Therefore, someone in the Nepalese Army headquarters apparently decided that a routine ‘for information only,’ kind of letter to the Ministry of Defence would be sufficient.Read More…
