In an appeal to the National Human Rights Commission dated 17 July, the family of Tsewang Lama, former MP from Humla, has asked the commission to look into Lama's disappearance. A 14 July news item in The Kathmandu Post says that Lama was arrested by the Chinese authorities while in Tibet on suspicion of being associated with Maoist activities, and was handed over to the Royal Nepal Army.

Lama's family and friends don't buy it. They say Lama, who also goes by the name Chakka Bahadur Lama, had returned from Kailash to Humla district headquarters in Simikot by helicopter on 11 July with an Indian tourist group. There, they say, he was apparently asked by local security and government officials to stay for a few days in Simikot before returning to his home in Torpa village. There has been no official news about Lama, and his family has not heard from him since. Lama's son Rinjin has appealed to the commission, human rights organisations, and political parties, asking them to help ensure his father's safety.

A former member of Baburam Bhattarai's Samyukta Jan Morcha, Lama gave up politics in 1994 and was managing an NGO, the Humla Conservation and Development Committee. Before his disappearance he was also preparing to visit Kathmandu to launch his guidebook on Humla, Kailash Mandala: A Pilgrim's Trekking Guide (Bookworm, #101).