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Kathmandu Saturday April 14, 2001 Baishakh 01, 2058.
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Govt orders
Cheema out Says investigation will continue
Post Report
KATHMANDU, April 13 - The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs today announced that Mohammed Arshad Cheema, the Pakistan Embassy First
Secreatary who was arrested yesterday with a large amount of explosives, leave the country
within the next 24 hours.
However, the Ministry has also said that the
investigations over the haul of 16 kg of RDX (Research Developed Explosive) shall continue
and that "the Government of Pakistan has assured that following the report of the
investigations, action will be taken against him (Cheema), if found guilty."
Cheema and his wife were arrested yesterday
at a house they were staying for the past few days in New Baneshwore, after police
recovered the explosives in a surprise raid.
"Since it is incompatible with his
diplomatic duties and inconsistent with Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, HMG has
decided that Mr. Cheema should leave the country within 24 hours," a Foreign Ministry
release states.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Embassy in Kathmandu
today has accused the Nepalese authorities of violating international conventions on
conducting diplomatic relations between states. Pakistan Embassy has also claimed that the
Cheema couple has been "framed on false and fabricated charges."
According to a Pakistan Embassy press
release, Cheema was scheduled to leave for Pakistan on April 13 after completion of his
tenure in Nepal. "The fact that no access was provided to the diplomats of this
Embassy who had arrived at the place of incident raises suspicions about the intention of
the police that carried out the operation. Subsequently we learnt that the diplomat and
his wife were forcibly confined to the first floor of the building whereas the contraband
material was allegedly recovered from the ground floor," the release reads.
"It has been repeatedly urged to the
Nepalese authorities that such an action constitutes a clear violation of the Vienna
Convention and that adherence to its provisions is in the interest of the conduct of
diplomatic relations between states," it further states.
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