Kathmandu, Sept. 19 -- When IGP Dan Bahadur Karki attended a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee last month, he was not in the mood to mince his words. After patiently listening to members of parliament for a couple of hours, he finally broke his silence.

"Thirteen honourable members spoke, and frankly, it felt like sitting next to someone who'd just had a bath in milk," he said, invoking a familiar Nepali expression used sarcastically for those who present themselves as completely honest and morally spotless. "I came here to answer questions on the substance of the matter, not to be dressed down."

For an incumbent chief of Nepal Police, this was uncharacteristically blunt. In the past, security chiefs who appeared before parliamen...