Retirement plan for APF employees who have served for 16 years: Lekhak, Minister

According to Minister of Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak, the new Armed Police Force (APF) Nepal law would include a clause allowing armed police officers to retire after 16 years of service.

Minister Lekhak made the statement on Wednesday during the special 24th Armed Police Day ceremony held at the APF Headquarters in Halchowk, Kathmandu.

As a long-standing demand of the force, Minister Lekhak announced that the law would soon include a provision allowing armed police officers (junior staffers) to retire after 16 years of service.

According to him, the text of the law was created after taking into account the opinions of all officers and staff.

Since becoming Home Minister, he has placed a strong emphasis on improving the effectiveness and professionalism of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force while also guaranteeing career advancement through stable laws and policies.

In the upcoming days, a bill pertaining to the Armed Police Force of Nepal would be presented to the parliament, Minister Lekhak announced.

In the upcoming days, we will register the pertinent law in the federal parliament, he stated. The opinions of all officers and staff were taken into consideration when drafting the statute. The measure will incorporate the 16-year-old retirement clause that armed police officers have long advocated for. Presenting this to the whole Armed Police Force Nepal on this momentous day makes me pleased.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was confirmed as the 24th APF Day’s primary guest, was unable to attend the special event due to a cold and tonsillitis, Home Minister Lekhak announced on the occasion.

The Armed Police Force of Nepal’s Inspector General, Raju Aryal, discussed the force’s efforts to secure international borders during the event. He said that the organization has made stopping smuggling and cross-border crimes a top priority and that 2,308 border pillars in Nepal have been maintained and painted.

In order to maintain peaceful collaboration, IGP Aryal further emphasized that the force has been meeting with counterpart security agencies in border areas on a regular basis. He emphasized that gaining the confidence, affection, and understanding of the local populace will enable them to assume responsibility for border security, in addition to the state’s border patrols.

The Armed Police Force employees, according to the IGP, operate with a spirit of service rather than merely a job. In border regions, the Armed Police Force Nepal is implementing initiatives to win over the hearts and minds of the indigenous populace.

At the same time, APF announced that the “One Soldier, One Home” initiative has been maintained at Headquarters. The scheme will allow Global IME Bank to lend up to Rs. 3 million to armed police officers and troops.

The Deputy Executive Director of Global IME Bank, Suman Pokhrel, and the spokesperson for the Armed Police Force (DIG), Kumar Neupane, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the occasion of the 24th Armed Police Day.

DIG Neupane claims that the deal with Global IME Bank will give Armed Police Force employees loans between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 3 million.

“We have implemented this program to deter the trend of early job departures,” he stated.

Loans for home building for up to 30 years will be available to Armed Police troops under the deal. An agreement for loans up to Rs. 1.5 million was inked by the Armed Police Force and a commercial bank last year. According to DIG Neupane, the contract with the commercial bank is still in effect.