KATHMANDU, June 23 (Xinhua) — Nepal on Thursday decided to bar Nepali nationals from going to war-torn countries among others for employment, a government spokesman said.
A meeting of the Nepalese Council of Ministers made a decision to bar its nationals from going to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, Minister for Information and Communications Sherdhan Rai told media.
The Nepalese government’s decision has come two days after 13 Nepali nationals working with the Canadian Embassy were killed in a suicide bomb in the Afghan Capital Kabul. Seven Nepali nationals were also injured in the barbaric terrorist attack which was taken responsibility by Taliban insurgents.
Earlier in 2011, Nepal partially lifted the ban on its nationals from working in Afghanistan saying that workers would be allowed to work for selected employers including the United Nations, the NATO and Western diplomatic missions.
Monday’s tragic incident in Afghanistan is said to be the biggest tragedy surrounding Nepali migrant workers since the killing of 12 Nepali migrant workers in Iraq in 2004.
At least 1,213 Nepali nationals have acquired work permit from the Nepalese government to work in Afghanistan in the first 10 months in the fiscal year 2071/2072. Media reports suggest that approximately 20,000 Nepali nationals are currently working in various places of Afghanistan.