KATHMANDU, JUNE 19

The newly formed government has announced a public holiday on Wednesday on occasion of Eid-al-Adha (Bakra Eid).

A cabinet meeting held today decided to allocate the holiday for the Muslim population celebrating the festival across various parts of Nepal.

Spokesperson of the Government Gyanendra Bahadur Karki apprised the media of the cabinet's decision regarding the same.

Eid al-Adha or Bakra Eid is also known as the 'festival of sacrifice' as it commemorates the readiness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael to prove his obedience to Allah. It is believed that God provided a lamb for sacrifice before this could happen.

On Eid al-Adha, Muslims sacrifice an animal, generally a goat or a lamb, to prove their devotion and love for Allah.

Likewise, Minister Karki stated that the annulment of Ambassadorial appointments to 11 nations as recommended by the former government has been formalised.

The following individuals had been recommended by the former government for ambassadorial appointments:

1. Nirmal Raj Kafle (Austria)

2. Jiwan Prakash Shrestha (Egypt)

3. Ramesh Chandra Paudel (Sri Lanka)

4. Krishna Chandra Sharma (South Korea)

5. Sumnima Tuladhar (Australia)

6. Janga Bahadur Chauhan (Russia)

7. Narayan Prasad Sangroula (Myanmar)

8. Yubaraj Karki (Bahrain)

9. Kul Prasad Nepal (Brazil)

10. Sumitra Subedi (Denmark)

11. Meraj Musalman (Saudi Arabia)