Prime Minister Balen Orders Immediate Release of Detained Journalists

Prime Minister Balendra Shah has instructed concerned security agencies to immediately release journalists who were recently taken into custody. Official statements confirmed that the head of government expressed serious concern right after learning about police entering news organisations and detaining media workers on Friday. Authorities have been told to stop all forms of raids, arrests, or interventions inside newsrooms. Clarifying the situation, the Prime Minister's press and research expert, Deepa Dahal, shared details regarding the executive office's position through a social media statement. She stated that Prime Minister Balen Shah, his secretariat, and the Office of the Prime Minister had no prior knowledge of the police actions. Furthermore, Dahal emphasised that the Prime Minister's office had complete non-involvement in the operation carried out by security personnel. According to reports, police officers had entered media premises on Friday and detained journalists, citing directions received from higher authorities. Upon being informed of these actions taken under the pretext of news reporting, Prime Minister Shah immediately issued firm directives to the concerned security authorities. He instructed them to release all detained journalists without delay and strictly maintain decorum regarding newsroom environments. The official statement issued by press expert Deepa Dahal reiterated that the Prime Minister took swift note of the newsroom incidents on 13 Kartik 2083. Security agencies have been explicitly directed to ensure no further detentions or coercive actions occur inside news offices moving forward. The Prime Minister's Secretariat maintains that prompt steps were ordered as soon as the executive was made aware of the arrests.