May 31: The Ministry of Defense has said its attention has been drawn towards the news related to arms procurement disseminated by some media last week.    

Issuing a press statement on Tuesday, the ministry clarified that the news disseminated in some media stating the decision was taken to purchase weapons including APC during the tenure of former Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, is misleading.

The ministry urged media outlets not to publish such baseless news.    

About a week ago, several media had reported that the Nepalese Army was about to purchase military equipment worth Rs 6 billion for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission at inflated price.

The news, which has been dismissed by the ministry, says that the army has completed all necessary steps to procure 26 Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) and weapons worth Rs 6 billion from neighboring China at a high cost.

 Citing unnamed sources, the news report stated that the previous government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had decided to purchase 26 APCs, 72 tactical vehicles and bullets from China.