Cabinet takes Pascoe's statement seriously

The meeting of the council of ministers held Sunday morning has expressed serious reservation over the remarks made by UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe.

According to ministers, the cabinet concluded that statement given by Pascoe is beyond diplomatic norms.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, government spokesperson and minister for information and communication Shankar Pokharel said the government had not asked any secret data about Maoist combatants but total figures that are required for release of salary and start of the integration process.

Pascoe had told the government that UNMIN is not mandated to provide the figures of Nepal Army and Maoist combatants and suggested to solve the dispute at the Joint Coordination Committee.

Similarly, the cabinet today increased import tax on gold heavily. According to the government decision, the import tax has been raised from Rs 130 to Rs 470 per 10 gram.

According to Pokharel, the cabinet did not discuss on appointment of new governor. The government has failed to pick new governor for months due to dispute among parties on who should be appointed to the post. nepalnews.com