Kathmandu, April 24 -- For most Nepalis, the arrival of the emir of Qatar to Kathmandu in four jets on Tuesday was marked by just one matter of importance: the government declared it a holiday.

The decision was greeted by howls of ridicule in the Nepali cybersphere with posts poking fun at a former monarchy pulling all stops to give a lavish welcome to a foreign monarch.

To be sure, Qatar is economically important because there are an estimated 400,000 Nepalis working in the Gulf emirate and an important source of remittance to families back home.

However, working conditions for Nepalis in the Gulf in general and Qatar in particular are said to be poor with few safeguards on labour rights. Migrant worker welfare was said to be high on...