After 12 Nepalis and two Indians were killed in suicide attack on a minibus carrying security guards who were the first line of defence to diplomats and families of the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, the headline of the first news posted by the Canadian public broadcaster CBC was conspicuously silent on the deaths of the Nepalis and Indians.

“All Canadian Embassy staff in Kabul safe after bus en route is hit in deadly suicide attack,” a CBC headline read on Monday after the attack. It was later changed after criticism.

The tweet posted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hailed for his liberal approach to immigrants, was also deafeningly silent on Nepali and Indian deaths.

“Today’s attack on security workers in Kabul is appalling & cowardly. Our thoughts are with the victims as we stand with the Afghan people,” Trudeau had tweeted.

Many Nepalis took note of the omission and the little coverage it received in the international media. The hierarchy of news and seeming lack of empathy by the very people the security guards died protecting has sparked an outrage.

Questions are also being asked why the guards were driven without proper armed escorts in such a dangerous place. Nepali officials say there was breach of security protocol as they were taken from their camp to Canadian mission premises.

“We will definitely look into that angle and talk to the Canadian government and British security firm for reasonable compensation for the Nepalis who were killed and wounded,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa told the Post.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked Nepal’s Acting Ambassador to Pakistan Tirtha Raj Aryal to fulfil other necessary tasks and hold talks with Canadian officials and British firm.

“We need to look into their contract, their insurance provision and other facilities before taking the negotiation process forward,” said Thapa.

Besides offering belated condolences, the Canadian government has not offered any kind of compensation to the victims yet.

Canadian Minister for Foreign Stéphane Dion said in a statement that “Canada strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan by the Taliban, including the attack on a bus carrying security guards who protect the Embassy of Canada in Kabul.” “On behalf of the government of Canada, I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the Nepalis and Indian security guards killed, and I wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured,” Dion said.

n A relative of Sanjita Lama (right)), whose husband Jitendra Singh Thapa died in a Kabul suicide bombing, consoles her as they wait outside Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday. A Nepal Airlines Corporation aircraft brought bodies of 12 Nepalis who were killed in the attack on Monday.Post Photo: prakash chandra timilsena