Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Sunday that issues related to the border with India would be addressed through dialogue and diplomatic engagement, ANI reported.
Speaking in Parliament for the first time since taking office after the March elections, the Nepal Prime Minister stressed the need for negotiations to resolve the matter peacefully.
He said the border issue with India will be resolved “through table talks and diplomatic efforts”.
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Balendra Shah said on Sunday that he had come to learn about allegations of Nepal “encroaching” on territories in India, while responding in Parliament to questions on the long-standing border dispute, PTI reported.
He added that both sides had agreed to involve historians, surveyors, and other experts to help resolve the issue, and noted that Kathmandu has also held diplomatic discussions with China and the United Kingdom on the matter.
Nepal and India have an ongoing boundary dispute over Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, with both countries asserting claims over the areas. India has maintained that these territories are part of Uttarakhand and has reiterated that the issue should be resolved through bilateral dialogue.
“The Nepal government has officially sent a diplomatic note to India, mentioning the issue of encroachment of territories by India, including Lipulekh, and we have already received their response,” Shah told the parliament. “Both the countries have agreed to resolve the issue sitting together with the help of historians, surveyors and concerned experts through diplomatic means.”
He, however, added that it is not only India that has “encroached” land in Nepal, the latter too had done the same with India, PTI reported.
“You will be surprised to know about a fact, which I have learnt recently only after becoming the Prime Minister. India has not only encroached Nepalese territories, but Nepal has also encroached India’s territories in many places,” said Shah. “Now both countries should study the facts and sit together as friends and resolve the issue.”
Former Diplomats say…
Former Nepalese ambassador to India Nilambara Acharya told Kantipuronline media portal that Shah has “no information regarding Indian territories being encroached by Nepal.”
According to Acharya, 97 per cent of the border disputes between the two sides have already been resolved, but there are few that still linger.
There are reports about some Nepalese using land in India and some Indians using land in Nepal due to the missing border pillars in some border areas, but the Nepal government as such has not encroached India’s territory, Acharya said.
Another former ambassador of Nepal to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay said that Nepal encroaching India’s territory is not there in any record.
“India has also not raised this issue on record … So far we have conducted studies, but this issue has never surfaced … I don’t know in which context the prime minister spoke about such a serious matter,” he told the Nepalpress online news portal.
Earlier this month, India stated that it is willing to engage constructively with Nepal on all matters in their bilateral ties, including addressing pending boundary issues through dialogue and diplomatic means.
In response to media queries regarding claims related to border issues made by the Foreign Ministry of Nepal in the context of the annual Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Randeep Jaiswal said that India’s position in this regard had been consistent and clear.
“Lipulekh Pass has been a long-standing route for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra since 1954, and the Yatra through this route has been going on for decades. This is not a new development,” he said, as reported by ANI.
“As regards territorial claims, India has consistently maintained that such claims are neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence. Such unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable,” the Spokesperson added.
India had in 2020 rejected KP Sharma Oli-led government’s move concerning Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani and said the revised map issued includes parts of Indian territory.
“This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said.
(With inputs from agencies)
