Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal and the secretariat team of Prime Minister Balen Shah have reached a consensus to allow the Department of Passports and two contracted German companies to proceed with printing new e-passports until the designated deadline of Ashar 31 (July 15). The agreement was made during a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday following intense pressure from the Prime Minister's secretariat to terminate the contract. Foreign Minister Khanal expressed full confidence that the new e-passports would be printed by the deadline through the assistance of the German companies.
The dispute escalated after members of the Prime Minister's secretariat repeatedly claimed that the two German companies would fail to print the passports on time and advocated for the cancellation of their contract. On Saturday evening, Madhav Khanal, a member of the Prime Minister's secretariat, telephoned Deepak Bik, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently leading the Department of Passports, verbally instructing him to terminate the contract by Monday afternoon. The secretariat member allegedly told departmental officials that they could make the decision independently without consulting the Foreign Minister, noting that ministers and secretaries are not permanent.
Following the direct verbal directive that bypassed the line ministry, worried departmental officials, including Joint Secretary Deepak Bik and senior officers, sought assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday. They briefed Foreign Minister Khanal, Foreign Secretary Amrit Rai, and Administration Division Chief Surendra Yadav about the administrative pressure. In response, Minister Khanal instructed the department to continue working toward the set deadline and committed to discussing the matter with the Prime Minister's secretariat.
On Monday, the Prime Minister's advisors Asim Shah, IT Advisor Vivek Mishra, and Madhav Khanal arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the passport contract. During the meeting, Minister Khanal maintained that terminating the contract before the expiration of the deadline could provoke international arbitration, resulting in financial losses and reputational damage for Nepal. He argued that leadership should focus on results rather than procedures, reiterating that the progress must be evaluated on Ashar 31.
The parties ultimately agreed to wait until Ashar 31, as the Department of Passports and the German companies are actively working to meet the timeline. Minister Khanal stated that alternative options would only be considered if the companies fail to deliver on time. Following the discussion, departmental officials expressed relief, noting that the minister assured them that secretariat members would no longer interfere directly in the department's operations, allowing the team to focus on active technical preparations and testing.
Meanwhile, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case in the Special Court against Department of Passports officials and the two German companies. On Ashar 1, members of the Prime Minister's secretariat reportedly summoned CIAA officials to the Prime Minister's Office, holding them for nearly eight to nine hours to pressure them into advancing the legal case. Consequently, the CIAA issued arrest warrants for the Director General of the Department of Passports, Tirtha Raj Aryal, and IT Director Sunil KC, eventually prosecuting 18 individuals, including department officials, German engineers, and local representatives.
