Kathmandu, February 1

Nepal’s Ambassador to Australia Lucky Sherpa who faces accusation of human trafficking by her former driver Wongchhu Sherpa has resigned from her post, expressing surprise over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ decision to form a probe committee to investigate the allegations against her.

She issued a three-page long press release, saying she and her family members were victims of character assignation and they wanted justice and truth to be upheld. Her former driver Wongchhu Sherpa has accused her and her husband of human trafficking. She said she waived her diplomatic immunity to help the Australian government investigate the allegations levelled against her.

“I inform you that the Australian government found allegations against me baseless and encouraged me to work as a diplomat respecting my dignity,” she added. A source at the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu told THT that the embassy had nothing to comment on the issue.

Sherpa said she tendered her resignation to the government on moral grounds but would continue to serve the nation and the people. “Lucky Sherpa said she never deviated from honesty, dutifulness and human service and would never do so in future.  “Who will serve justice to me in this case of character assassination against me and when?” she said.

She stated that it was because of the diplomatic norms that she initially had to keep quiet even when false accusations were levelled against her, but since those accusations created confusion, she deemed it necessary to clarify her position.

She said the purported telephone communication between her and Wongchhu was a compilation of her conversation that took place in a different context. “One must take note of the fact that my career began with my campaign against human trafficking,” she said adding that her life was like an open book and all that she had earned these years was her integrity.  “You all have the right to get information from concerned embassies about the false accusation levelled against me,’ she stated.

She said some people who wanted to win Australian Permanent Residency card by hook or by crook and who were running a racket to help other Nepalis win Australian PR card through asylum process used Wongchhu to entrap her.

She said the purported telephone communication between her and Wongchhu was a compilation of her conversation that took place in different contexts. She said although Wongchhu’s efficiency and language ability were tested, his intention and integrity were not tested and that was the root of the problems. She said some media outlets unilaterally covered the statements of the victims misleading the public.   “Our bank accounts and all economic transactions can be scrutinised,” she added.

She said that she notified the Australian government about the crime of theft and cheating Wongchhu committed and the Government of Nepal about his illegal acts with the evidence sent by victims.

“What an irony and how unfortunate it is that a letter sent through diplomatic means was not acted upon but a probe committee was formed just because somebody screamed loud,” she stated in her release. Other countries, she added, thoroughly investigated allegations levelled against their representatives and gave them a chance to defend themselves.

She said she had tried her best to help Nepalis living in Australia, giving an impression that Nepali Embassy in Australia was the guardian of all Nepali nationals living there. She said Wongchhu had been indulging in illegal acts and the Government of Nepal should bring him here and probe into the allegations levelled against her.