Kathmandu, February 27
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has cancelled his scheduled foreign trip to Qatar, apparently in view of the presidential election.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said PM Dahal would leave for Doha on March 3 to participate in the Fifth Conference of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). But, Dahal’s press advisor Surya Kiran Sharma said the trip was called off due to recent political developments and the presidential election scheduled for March 9.
Dahal is sending Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha to the event.
Meanwhile, PM Dahal also directed Foreign Affairs Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal to cancel her visit to Geneva for a key UN human rights meeting at the eleventh hour on Sunday.
Dahal’s action against Paudyal’s foreign trip plan is believed to be a response to her party, CPN-UML’s reluctance to leave the coalition government even after Dahal switched the side for the presidential election.
