Kathmandu, November 26:

A delegation of the Nepal Ex-Servicemen’s Association (NEA) met the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at his official residence in Baluwatar today and handed him over a letter of the British government on pay and pension of British Gurkhas.

“I have received a letter from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) saying our petition is getting attention and that the MoD will be writing to us about the latest development,” major Dipak Bahadur Gurung, president of the NEA, said.

The petition was sent to the British Secretary of State for Armed Forces through Gilmour, an MoD official who had visited Nepal in September. The petition has requested the removal of the cut-off date of July 1, 1997 and parity on pay and pension to Gurkha soldiers, who served the British army.

The delegates also requested the PM to allow the NEA to utilise the land allocated for the army in Pulchowk. They also demanded that the government take a stance on the issue of Gurkha soldiers’ pay and pension.

“The PM was positive on our demands,” Gurung said after the visit. According to Gurung, the PM said he will ask the Nepali ambassador to the UK to look into the matter.