Now Reading: Gorkha veterans pressure Nepal to resume Agnipath recruitment
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Gorkha veterans pressure Nepal to resume Agnipath recruitment
Gorkha veterans have urged Indian Army chief General Dhiraj Seth to restart recruitment of Nepali youths under the Agnipath scheme, which has been suspended since 2020. During Seth's visit to Pokhara on Wednesday, former soldiers handed him a memorandum calling for talks with the Nepali government to break the deadlock.
Nepal halted recruitment after India introduced the four-year Agnipath model in June 2022, arguing it violates the 1947 tripartite agreement that guaranteed long-term service and pensions. The issue was not raised in Seth's formal talks with Prime Minister Balendra Shah or Nepal Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel, though veterans say the freeze is pushing young men toward low-paid Gulf jobs. Around 1,400 Nepali youths were recruited annually before the suspension.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The coverage splits sharply. Times of India and Onlinekhabar lead with veterans' protests and their economic argument: Gulf jobs versus Agniveer pay. The Kathmandu Post, in contrast, front-loads Nepal's sovereignty concern: the Agnipath model 'departs from the 1947 tripartite agreement' and raises 'social and national security implications'. Times of India omits any mention of Nepal's 2020 Covid suspension, dating the deadlock only to the 2022 scheme. Kathmandu Post alone notes the government had already halted recruitment in 2020. The measured read: no source disputes that recruitment is frozen. What they disagree on is whether the obstacle is Nepal's principled stand (Kathmandu Post) or its failure to grasp opportunity (ToI). The key next step is absent from all: no signal that either government is willing to move. Watch for the next Bilateral Group on Security Issues meeting.
Coverage: 3 sources, 2 government-critical, 1 neutral
Sources (3): timesofindia.indiatimes.com (government critical), english.onlinekhabar.com (neutral report), kathmandupost.com (government critical)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
