Kathmandu, Oct. 30 -- The parliamentary hearing committee is preparing to convene a meeting to decide on the nomination of Jigyan Kumar Thapa as Nepal's ambassador to Japan. Under the law, the committee must complete the hearing process within 45 days of receiving a nomination. It has until November 5 to decide on Thapa. If it fails to send its decision within that period, there will be no legal obstacle to his appointment.

Committee secretary Tul Bahadur Kandel said a meeting had been proposed for Monday to discuss and decide on Thapa's nomination.

Questions were raised during the hearing about whether Thapa holds permanent residency in Japan. The committee subsequently wrote twice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeking details fr...