As crises mount, Nepal’s parliamentary committees struggle to hold the government to account

The ‘mini-parliaments’ have largely remained silent on issues of public concern—from police killings and executive pressure on constitutional bodies to financial controversies—raising questions about their independence and oversight role.

But, rather than using these serious allegations as a starting point to conduct an independent parliamentary inquiry into potential executive interference in the judiciary, the committee spent more than four hours deliberating the motives of the watchdog groups. By the end of the lengthy session, the committee reached a controversial decision that these three international organisations should furnish clarification. The decision drew severe criticism from civil society, legal experts, and constitutional observers across the country.