The Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Labour has asked the government to take action against the foreign employment agencies involved in “illegal smuggling” of people to war-torn countries like Afghanistan, promising them jobs. It has also urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Labour and Employment to assess the security situation of Nepalis working in high-risk countries.

The committee’s request comes in the wake of Monday’s Taliban attack on a bus in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in which 12 Nepali security guards were killed.

“We have been repeatedly reminding the government to do more to stop people from travelling to high-risk zones. The government should act now,” said Prabhu Sha, the committee’s chairman, on Wednesday.

Thousands of Nepalis go to war torn countries, including Iraq, Syria and Libya, for employment despite the security risk. It is said that a large number of these people go to these countries through illegal channels. It is estimated that 20,000 Nepalis are working in Afghanistan. Around  30,000 Nepalis are in Iraq.