Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula has said that the government had not imported any arms from India.
Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula
Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula (File Photo)
Informing Wednesday’s session of the parliament, Sitaula said that the vehicles in question were brought from western and mid-western divisional headquarters of the Nepali Army to be sent along with the United Nations peacekeeping mission that is going to Lebanon.
Stating that the problem will not be resolved by protests, the Home Minister asked all not to spread propaganda that the government had imported weapons for war.
He said that the vehicles were brought as per the tradition of supplying logistics to the peacekeepers.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu also refuted reports that weapons were brought from India and marked the report baseless.
Stating that the attention of the Embassy of India has been drawn to media reports about vehicles coming into Nepal from India allegedly with arms, the Embassy said, “These allegations are completely baseless and untrue.”
The statement further said, “The facts confirmed by the Embassy’s own investigations are as follows. Eight ‘Comet’ trucks of Ashoka Leyland were cleared from the Land Customs Station, Raxaul on 5 September 2006. It has also been confirmed that these are open trucks with no cargo of any kind, and certainly no arms. They are also not mine-protected or armoured trucks or vehicles, as has been alleged by some.”
Earlier, the ceasefire monitoring committee after carrying out preliminary research said that no arms were found in the vehicles imported from India.
The Maoists have claimed that the government imported arms in four armoured carriers, 20 mini trucks, 2 trucks and five jeeps.
Meanwhile, the Maoist cadres organised demonstrations in Kathmandu and major towns in the country saying that the government imported arms violating the code of conduct.
However, report quoted Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara as saying that they had not called the vehicular strike (chhaka jam) in the capital.
Meanwhile, Bhairhawa, Butwal, Parasi, Narayanghat and Biratnagar were shut down on Tuesday due to the chhaka Jam called by the Maoists in protest of the alleged import of arms.
It was reported last week that a large amount of arms and ammunitions landed at Ahamedabad of Gujarat, India, on a Ukrainian airliner.