Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) has approved the recommendation of 10 ambassadors to various countries, out of the 13 proposed.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the PHC unanimously approved the nominations of Dr Nischal Nath Pandey for India, Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma for China, Chiran Jung Thapa for the United States, Gaurav Shamsher JB Rana for the United Kingdom and Saru Joshi for Germany.
The committee also approved the nominations of Suresh Kumar Karn for Israel, Padmakshi Rana for Oman, Dr Sangam Shrestha for South Korea, Prapti Sherchan for Spain and Dr Manchala Kumari Jha for Sri Lanka, according to PHC Chairperson Bodh Narayan Shrestha.
The PHC will now inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the approved nominations to initiate the process of obtaining agrément from the respective countries. Once the host countries grant their consent, the president appoints the ambassadors, who are then administered the oath of office before being sent to their respective postings.
Meanwhile, the committee unanimously rejected the nomination of Giri Bahadur Sunar as ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Complaints had been filed against Sunar over allegations of domestic violence, financial dealings and conduct allegedly inconsistent with diplomatic standards.
During the hearing on Wednesday, PHC members also raised questions about whether Sunar had been deported from Germany. Members questioned him over allegations of violence against women.
In response, Sunar said he had been in a romantic relationship with a woman 13 years ago and that a dispute between them had subsequently been settled at the District Police Range, Lalitpur.
He claimed that his character was being tarnished over telephone conversations and alleged that another person had been repeatedly filing cases against him using a power of attorney.
Sunar maintained that no complaints had ever been registered against him and that he had never been convicted of a criminal offence. He also denied reports that he had been deported from Germany.
After discussions with the person who filed the complaint against Sunar, the PHC had sought details from the District Police Range, Lalitpur and the Department of Immigration on Monday.
The PHC had given Sunar the option of withdrawing his nomination. However, after he maintained his position, the committee unanimously rejected his nomination.
