Too unfit to run the police, yet fit to advise the PM?

Having removed Inspector General of Nepal Police Dan Bahadur Karki through an emergency Cabinet meeting on Wednesday , the Balendra Shah-led government is yet to give a reason that would satisfy an ordinary citizen. No charge has been brought and no disciplinary action taken, which implies, in principle, that Karki did nothing wrong. Government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel said the new post of security adviser has been created so Karki can offer the prime minister necessary counsel on security.

An administration that finds a man unfit to command a force, then creates a job for him next door, has produced a contradiction, not a justification. Reporting by the Post points to friction with the prime minister’s office instead. Karki has petitioned the Supreme Court, so the legal questions will be settled there.

The damage to a force with a long legacy will not. Left unexplained, the decision invites more meddling, more drift and more abuse of executive power.