Kathmandu, July 18 -- Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak on Friday said that the government is preparing to procure weapons for Nepal Police and Armed Police Force in accordance with existing laws, stressing that the procurement process would be transparent and within the budget allocated for the current fiscal year.

Responding to concerns raised by lawmakers over media reports suggesting that the government was reviving old tenders to purchase arms, Lekhak clarified that there was no such plan.

"Tenders issued three or four years ago will not be used. The government will not proceed with the procurement based on outdated contracts," he told the meeting of the National Assembly's Federalism Enablement and National Concerns Committee. "The purc...