Kathmandu, May 28 -- The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC) had invited Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as a chief guest for its silver jubilee celebrations, scheduled for Tuesday, with the invitation extended two weeks in advance.

Everything was in place until Monday evening-until a statement by the commission changed the course of events. Hours before the event, Oli's secretariat informed the commission that he was too busy to attend the programme.

Officials at the commission don't buy that reason. "Prime ministers have been absent from our annual events even in the past but they would send their representatives. This time, there was no representation from the government," said a senior official at the commission. "The abse...