The office of Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah has denied involvement in the detention of journalists, saying it had no knowledge of the arrests. In a statement reported on October 30, 2026, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said it had not been informed about the detentions and rejected claims connecting the office to the crackdown.
Secretariat rejects claims of a link
The Secretariat’s statement drew a distinction between the Prime Minister’s office and the arrests, rejecting assertions that it was involved in or aware of the action against journalists. Its position, as reported, was that the office had received no information about the detentions.
The denial addresses claims linking the Secretariat to the arrests, but the available report does not identify the journalists, specify when or where they were detained, or provide details about the circumstances of the arrests. It also does not describe the claims that prompted the Secretariat’s response.
Details remain limited
The statement, as summarized in the report, focuses on the Prime Minister’s office and its knowledge of the detentions. It does not establish who carried out the arrests or explain what prompted them. No further information about the journalists or the events surrounding their detention was included in the available account.
The report provides no additional response from the journalists, their representatives, or other officials. The Secretariat’s denial therefore represents the stated position of the Prime Minister’s office, while the available information does not offer further details about the arrests themselves.
The report by Nepal Press said the Secretariat denied both involvement and prior knowledge. Its statement was reported on October 30, 2026.
