KATHMANDU, AUGUST 3
Parliamentarians provided suggestions for making the National Investigation Department more effective by expanding its scope.
In the meeting of the parliamentary State Affairs and Good-Governance Committee today, deliberation began on the Bill made to amend and integrate the existing law on formation and operation of Nepal Special Service, 2020.
Parliamentarian underscored the need for human resources working in the department to maintain confidentiality considering the nature of work and responsibilities of the department. Committee member Gagan Kumar Thapa viewed that it was unjustified that among other security agencies, the NID alone would be brought under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
Another member Brajesh Kumar Gupta questioned how human resources working in the department would continue to spy covertly when he/ she goes on overtly publicising about his/her works. Similarly, Shakti Bahadur Basnet recommended that the department be kept under the Ministry of Home Affairs to make the functions of the department swifter and predictable as per tradition and practice.
Lalbabu Pandit called for bucking the trend of recruiting staffers in the department at the behest of someone. He argued that the department ought to shoulder the state's important security related responsibilities. He asserted that the appointment of staffers in the department should be based on the principle of meritocracy and expertise.
The department, the main intelligence agency of the country, has been collection information on the country's public security, economic crimes, corruption, domestic and cross-border terrorism, money laundering, narcotics and human trafficking.
After analysing information on that, the department furnishes recommendations to the government so as to protect national interest and maintain law and order, among others. The parliamentarians also provided suggestion for expanding the scope of the department by only collecting information regarding the investigation of crimes.
The Bill also aims to control the acts of secession, espionage, sabotage and subversion and to protect national sovereignty, national integrity and communal harmony.
Furthermore, the Bill allows intelligence officers to carry out surveillance, monitoring and intercept suspicious audio or audiovisual conversation at the individual or institutional level.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 4, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
