Kathmandu, March 28 -- The government has refused to appoint Murari Kharel as secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, alleging that the selection process was not transparent.

The Prime Minister's Office rejected Kharel's recommendation on Tuesday following the reluctance of the constitutional human rights watchdog to provide the original marking files of the candidates competing for the position. Along with Kharel, acting secretary at the commission, Yagya Adhikari and Tika Ram Pokharel, joint secretaries, were in the race for the topmost administrative position at the commission.

"The commission's recommendation couldn't be approved," Lila Devi Gadtaula, secretary at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), told the Post. "We have...