Kosh Raj Koirala

Nepali national Tilak Bahadur Thapa Magar, who had been serving a 20-year jail term in Afghanistan for the last two years, arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday evening after Afghan President Hamid Karzai granted him clemency on the request of Nepal government.

The release of Thapa Magar was possible after over a year long diplomatic efforts by the Nepal embassy in Pakistan, which is also concurrently accredited to Afghanistan. Thapa Magar, who then worked as a senior official with Contract International Corporation, hails from Bandipur-5 of Tanahun district.

Upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu Sunday evening, Thapa Magar thanked Afghan President Karzai, Nepali Ambassador to Pakistan Bharat Raj Poudyal, Nepali journalist based in Afghanistan Subel Bhandari and Afghan foreign ministry officials for securing his release. While pleading his innocence in Afghan courts, Thapa Magar also announced not to go back to Afghanistan for work.

His spouse Juna, and two sons Rohit, 18, and Rohan, 16, had reached the TIA to receive him. They were overwhelmed to see the sole breadwinner of the family return home.

Thapa Magar along with one Pakistani and two Afghan nationals were arrested by National Directorate of Intelligence of Afghanistan on April 19, 2011 from Helmand Province on charge of leaking vital security information to the intelligence agency of the Pakistan. A court in Helmand had convicted Thapa Magar of espionage and handed him 16 years in prison.

Later, the Afghan Supreme Court had increased the sentence by four more years. “I had actively initiated diplomatic efforts right since I assumed the post of ambassador in Islamabad. I am happy that we could finally secure his release with unprecedented support from Afghan authorities,” said Nepali envoy Poudyal over telephone.

Poudyal said he had first tried to learn about the status of Thapa Magar´s case to ascertain if there was possibility of making a fresh appeal against the court´s verdict. “But as we came to learn that there was no possibility of appealing against the verdict, we actively pursued diplomatic efforts to secure his release considering the condition of his family back home,” said Poudyal.

Earlier, Poudyal during his meeting with Afghan President Karzai to submit his credentials on May 4 had handed over a letter from Nepal´s then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, requesting clemency for Thapa Magar. Prior to that, the envoy had held a separate meeting with the Afghan attorney general, Afghan Interior and Foreign Ministry officials for securing the release of Thapa Magar.

“It has been possible to secure Thapa Magar´s release following the Nepal government head´s request and our rigorous diplomatic efforts,” the Nepali embassy in Pakistan said in a press statement on Sunday.

The embassy in the press statement said that it is appreciative of the Afghan president and his government granting clemency to Thapa Magar on humanitarian grounds.

Published on: 15 July 2013 | Republica