Form a Judicial Committee to Probe Visit Visa Scandal

Amid ongoing protests by opposition parties, particularly the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the government has decided to form a High-Level Committee for Study and Investigation on Immigration and Visit Visas with a three-month mandate. The probe panel, headed by former Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, is intended to help resolve the prolonged deadlock in parliament. However, opposition parties have raised questions about the ability of the committee—comprising joint secretaries from the Ministries of Home, Labour, Federal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs—to conduct an independent investigation. The committee has also come under serious public scrutiny, as the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has already launched a probe into allegations of illegal money collection from individuals seeking visit visas—reportedly involving staff from the Department of Immigration under the Home Ministry. Concerns regarding the committee’s credibility and its ability to get to the root of the visit visa scandal and recommend action against those responsible, regardless of their power or position, are valid and understandable. If the government is truly committed to an impartial and fact-based investigation, it should form a judicial committee led by a sitting or former judge.