KATHMANDU, MAY 4

The Press Council Nepal (PCN) has reversed its decision to take action against The Himalayan Times (THT).

PCN Chairman Bal Krishna Basnet confirmed that the council's board meeting on April 28 resolved to annul its earlier action against THT. On May 4, the council formally sent a letter (Ref No. 1009) to THT notifying it of the revocation.

On March 2, PCN had imposed an unjust action against THT for publishing a series of investigative reports on controversial British climber Nirmal Purja (commonly known as Nims Purja) and his UK-based company, Elite Exped. The reports had exposed alleged irregularities, financial and sexual misconduct, and abuse of power.

The revocation letter, signed by PCN Monitoring Officer Mahendra Raj Singh, stated that the council highly appreciates THT's commitment to fact-based, ethical journalism.

The March 2 decision had been based solely on a content analysis submitted by Elite Exped's team. A PCN board member said, 'The council revoked the action after a review committee found the initial move discriminatory and unfair.'

Earlier, several media organizations-including the Nepal Media Society, Media Alliance Nepal, Freedom Forum, Media Action Nepal, and the THT Chapter of the Federation of Nepali Journalists-had condemned PCN's action and demanded its withdrawal. The issue was also raised in the House of Representatives.

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