MPs Demand Diplomatic Passports, Speaker Holds Discussion

Kathmandu. Khushbu Oli, a Member of Parliament from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), stated that the Speaker held discussions with the Chief Whips of various parties regarding the issue of diplomatic passports. 

Speaking to media persons after Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal’s meeting with the Chief Whips of the parties represented in the House of Representatives, MP Oli mentioned that the discussion focused on how to move forward given the increasing demands from various members of the House for diplomatic passports.

She noted that according to Section 6 of the Passport Act 2076 B.S and its regulations, diplomatic passports are only provided to designated officials assigned to specific government programs or special duties.

She said, "Since requests for diplomatic passports are coming from various members of the House of Representatives, the Speaker called the party Whips and Chief Whips to discuss how to proceed. According to Section 6 of the Passport Act 2076 B.S and its regulations, it appears that only designated officials going on special government programs or specific assignments receive them."

However, she stated that many MPs need to travel abroad for various programs, and under the current legal provisions, there are difficulties in providing passports easily.

She informed that the Speaker called the meeting to collect suggestions from the Whips and Chief Whips of various parties on how to facilitate this for lawmakers in the coming days.

She added, "Since many honorable members have to travel abroad for various programs, it is currently not possible to provide them according to the Act and regulations, but the meeting was called for opinions and advice on how to facilitate this for the members in the future."