Kathmandu : Prime Minister’s press advisor and research expert Dipa Dahal has made it clear that the Prime Minister, his secretariat and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers had no involvement in the arrests of journalists.
In her post on social sites, Dahal said that the Prime Minister and his secretariat had no prior information about the arrests. She added that when the Prime Minister was informed about the incident, the authorities concerned were directed to release the journalists and not to arrest journalists by entering the newsrooms.
Meanwhile, Press Council Nepal, the state’s media regulatory body, has said that its serious attention was drawn to the apprehensions of journalists by the police persons in plain clothes upon reaching the newsrooms.
In a press release issued by Council spokesperson, Deepak Khanal, the Council said it was committed to protecting press freedom and promoting professional journalism.
Meanwhile, the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has expressed its concern over the apprehensions of journalists and carrying out raids in media houses solely on the basis of news reports they have published.
