By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 6 August: The Government of Nepal has called off the 17th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS), an international academic gathering that was scheduled to take place in Kathmandu from 23 to 29 August 2026. The sudden decision halted nearly four years of preparation for what was slated to be one of the largest gatherings of global Tibetology scholars, coming on the heels of sustained diplomatic pressure from Beijing.

The executive action stands out because Nepal’s own intelligence and security agencies had evaluated the event, found no security threat, and recommended that the seminar be allowed to proceed under standard monitoring.

Internal Bureaucratic Reversal and Lack of Cabinet Review

According to reporting by the Kathmandu Post, the directive originated from Chief Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karkee following consultations with Foreign...