Nepal will not participate in any military alliance; 10-point agreement on SPP is fake: CoAS Sharma

KATHMANDU: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Prabhuram Sharma has dismissed claims that Nepal would participate in any military alliance.

CoAS Sharma, who was present at the meeting of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives on Friday, said that the Nepal Army had even written a letter to the government not to participate in the US State Partnership Program (SPP).

Similarly, he claimed that the content published in various media recently that the government has signed a 10-point SPP agreement was untrue.

He said, “The SPP’s document is a fake one. It must have been brought to create confusion.”

CoAS Sharma said that the letter written by the then Chief of Army Staff Rajendra Chhetri, now retired, to the US Embassy in 2015 was official.

He clarified the letter was sent to the US Embassy with the permission of the then Prime Minister.

The Committee had summoned CoAS Sharma to a meeting after widespread questions were raised about the SPP.

“It is true that the letter was sent seeking support and assistance to the Nepali people to come and help the victims of the earthquake in Nepal,” he said.

Sharma also made it clear that Nepal Army would operate only on the basis of the government’s foreign policy.

He noted that there was no military partnership in the State Partnership Program.