The Kathmandu Post/ANN

The law and order situation in Nepal is in "an extremely volatile situation", thanks to serious lapses on the part of home minister Bhim Rawal and the security agencies under him, according to members of a parliamentary committee.

"Your own Cabinet colleagues have pointed the finger at you for taking along the heads of security agencies to China when the country’s security situation was already declining," said Nepali Congress lawmaker Purna Bahadur Khadka. "And while you and the agency heads were away, a heinous crime took place in the heart of the capital," said Khadka, referring to media entrepreneur Jamim Shah’s killing last Sunday (February 14).

At Monday’s meeting of the state affairs committee, which convened to discuss the deteriorating security situation, 22 lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties threw a volley of questions at Rawal and questioned the timing of his foreign trip.

The committee also directed the home ministry to prepare a new integrated security plan within 10 days to address shortcomings in Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department.

The committee stated there were irregularities in capacity for information collection and analysis and their timely distribution among security agencies. It called for vigilance and prompt response to improve law and order.

The committee has urged the home ministry to form an assessment guideline with provisions for performance-based reward and punishment. It has also directed the inspector-general of Nepal Police to submit a policy within a week to strengthen capacity and uplift morale in the police force and free the institution from political intervention.

UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker and party spokesman Dinanath Sharma asked Rawal to explain the mystery surrounding Shah’s death and the motive behind the killing. "The home minister should own up moral responsibility for the death." Lawmakers also sought Rawal’s response to charges that Shah was affiliated with foreign intelligence agencies or underground groups.