PM vows action against guilty

KATHMANDU, June 9: Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal said on Thursday that he has construed the attack on Republica journalist Khilanath Dhakal in Biratnagar as an attack aimed at the government, and vowed that he would not spare the culprits.



The prime minister expressed such views during an interaction with a delegation of journalists led by Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) President Shiva Gaunle.[break]



“Those involved in the attacks on journalists cannot be CPN-UML cadres,” Khanal said. He assured the delegation that the government is committed to taking action against the guilty. “I have already directed the concerned authorities to take strong action against the criminals,” Khanal said.



He also stated that his government is committed to creating an environment wherein journalists can work fearlessly. “Journalists have been resisting such atrocities for long. The government has taken the attacks on journalists seriously and is ready to move ahead as per the existing legal provisions. No criminal will go scot-free,” he said.



The journalists demanded that the government take strong action against those involved in the attacks on journalists in Biratnagar and elsewhere.

“We request you to take strong action against the guilty in your capacity as the head of the state and the chairman of the CPN-UML. You should swing to action immediately,” said Gaule.







During the interaction, editor of the Nagarik Daily Narayan Wagle urged the prime minister to send a team of the qualified police officials from Kathamandu to Biratnagar to take immediate action against the guilty. “We would not have come here to talk to you if the local administration had done its duty effectively,” he said.



Govt will not spare the guilty: Yadav



Similarly, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Upendra Yadav on Thursday assured that the government would not spare any one who was involved in the attack on journalist Dhakal.



“Any one who attacks journalists for writing a news story will not be spared,” he said in Biratnagar. “When I return to Kathmandu, I will talk to home minister in this regard.”



Govt will book all behind the attack: Pokharel



Likewise, Minister for Information and Communications Agni Sapkota said that the government will not spare those who attacked Republica correspondent Dhakal.



“The government will bring to book all those behind the attack,” Sapkota said while speaking at a function in Reporters´ Club in Kathmandu.



Youth Force cadres had attacked Dhakal in Biratnagar on Sunday. Dhakal, who has received serious injuries, has been undergoing treatment in Nobel Hospital, Biratnagar.

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