Kathmandu, Aug. 5 -- Three international human rights organisations that recently raised concerns over alleged government pressure on senior Supreme Court justices did not appear before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday despite being invited for a discussion.

The Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives had invited representatives of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to discuss their joint statement alleging threats to judicial independence in Nepal.

The committee began the discussion at 9:30am. Law Minister Sobita Gautam, Supreme Court Chief Registrar Bimal Paudel, constitutional experts Bipin Adhikari and Khimlal Devkota, among others, attend...