Nepal Army General Pande Resigns Amid Birth Date Discrepancy

Kathmandu – Nepal Army’s Major General Tara Dhoj Pande, a contender for the position of army chief, has resigned amidst an investigation into the controversy surrounding conflicting birth dates. The departure paves the way for Major General Ashok Sigdel to potentially assume the role after the retirement of the current Chief, General Prabhu Ram Sharma.

On Friday, Pande submitted his resignation, awaiting approval from the Ministry of Defence, as confirmed by Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Krishna Prasad Bhandari. The resignation has been forwarded to the Cabinet for further consideration, according to a source at the Ministry of Defence.

Pande’s career faced challenges due to the dual birth date controversy, resulting in complaints filed against him with various authorities, including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the State Affairs Committee of the parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Defence Ministry, and Hello Sarkar, the government’s public complaints platform.

The CIAA has directed the defence ministry to investigate Pande’s birth date, and the ministry has subsequently forwarded the directive to the Army headquarters. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka have instructed the Army headquarters to conduct a thorough inquiry and report to the ministry.

Highlighting the prevalence of birthdate tampering for obtaining multiple citizenship cards, a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office emphasized the need for clear guidelines and consistent policies across government entities to address such discrepancies. The official urged the Prime Minister’s Office to take a leading role in establishing a comprehensive approach.