Nepal: Break Agniveer hiring deadlock, Gorkha veterans press Balen government

Calls for Nepal to allow its citizens to join the Indian Army under its Agnipath scheme have grown louder ahead of Army chief General Dhiraj Seth's scheduled participation in an ex-servicemen rally for Gorkha veterans in Pokhara Wednesday, bringing the stalled recruitment issue back into focus during his three-day visit.Days before Gen Seth's arrival, hundreds of former Indian Army personnel, their families, and Gorkha aspirants marched in Pokhara, urging Nepal PM Balen Shah to allow recruitment under Agnipath. They submitted a memorandum to Shah and home minister Sudan Gurung.The deadlock has remained an unresolved backdrop to Gen Seth's visit, though official accounts of his talks with Nepal Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel have made no mention of the issue. Gen Seth was conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepal Army by President Ramchandra Paudel Monday. Gen Seth met Shah in Kathmandu Tuesday, but Agnipath found no public mention in the official statement.Colonel Krishna Bahadur Khatri (retd) told TOI from Kathmandu that Nepal's stand had "deprived its youths of an opportunity still seen by many Gorkha families as far better than low-paid employment overseas". Captain Rudra Thapa (retd) said the freeze had pushed many young men towards low-paid, physically demanding jobs in the Gulf and other countries when they could have earned a far income through military service. "If they were allowed to join Indian Army as Agniveers, they could have earned around Nepalese Rs 45-50 lakh, including benefits, in four years," Thapa said. "If govt does not allow recruitment into foreign armies, it must be able to provide employment at home."India introduced Agnipath in June 2022, under which recruits serve for four years and up to 25% may later be absorbed into regular service. Nepal declined to allow recruitment under the new terms, arguing that the four-year contractual model marked a departure from the long-term service and pension arrangement that underpinned the 1947 tripartite agreement. No Nepal-domiciled Gorkhas have been recruited since.