KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Deputy General Secretary Pradip Gyawali has said that the political leadership was not aware of the request letter sent by the Nepali Army (NA) to participate in the US State Partnership Program (SPP).

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli was the Prime Minister at the time in 215 when the NA had requested the US for involvement in the SPP.

Gyawali, on the other hand, said that the Nepal Army had written the letter without informing the Prime Minister and other political leaders.

In an interaction program organized in Kathmandu on Saturday, former Foreign Minister Gyawali said that the army had written the letter without informing the political leadership during the transition period after the new constitution was drafted in 2015.

“The proof of the amry engaging with the ministry concerned or the political leadership at the time is not there. The army must have thought that the defense ministy had given it green signal to do so.”

According to him, the army has sought the opinion of the Ministry of Defense to participate in the SPP and the Ministry of Defense had given permission without understanding the issue well.

“It is seen that the NA sought the Defense Ministry’s guidance. At the time, the SPP was thought of as an exchange program that facilitated a kind of tour to the United States,” said Gyawali.

“It is also seen that the defense sent a letter asking for a representative of the defense ministry to be present. However, the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the opinion of the Ministry of Law was not sought.”

UML Deputy General Secretary Gyawali claims that the then KP Sharma Oli-led government came to know about this only after the Indo-Pacific report in 2019 listed Nepal and Sri Lanka as new members of the SPP.

He said after that the government had formed a task force to study the issue.