No role for any third party in bilateral matter: India on Nepal PM’s boundary issue remarks

New Delhi: India on Tuesday firmly responded to Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s remarks on boundary issues and stressed that there is “no role for any third party” on matters related to two nations.

Addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has seen Balen Shah’s remarks on India-Nepal boundary issue. He noted that the boundary between two nations has been demarcated close to 98 per cent but there are some unresolved segments.

“We have seen the remarks of the Prime Minister of Nepal concerning India India-Nepal boundary as well as the subsequent statement made by the Nepali foreign office on this matter. While close to 98 per cent of the India-Nepali boundary has been demarcated, there are some unresolved segments. The shifting of the course of Gandak River has resulted in this situation,” Jaiswal stated while responding to a question on the issue.

“In addition, there are cases of cross-border occupation and encroachment of no man’s land in demarcated segments of the boundary, which are currently being mapped jointly. We have established bilateral mechanisms to deal with all aspects of boundary matters. It should be clear to all concerned that there is no role for any third parties in a bilateral matter between India and Nepal,” he added.

The MEA’s response came after Shah on Sunday claimed that Nepal has encroached on Indian territory. However, he did not disclose any details about where Nepal had encroached upon the Indian land.

Shah was responding to local lawmakers who had questioned him about India’s alleged encroachment of the disputed region of Limpiyadhura, Lipulek and Kalapani region. Both Nepal and India claim sovereignty over these areas though the region is effectively under Indian control for decades.

“After becoming Prime Minister, I came to know that not only has India encroached on Nepal’s land, but Nepal has also encroached on India’s land in multiple places,” Shah said.

“Both sides should sit down and look into the matter.”

Shah also stated that Nepal engaged in diplomatic discussions with China and the United Kingdom regarding the border dispute with India.

It was probably the first time Nepal had openly admitted holding talks with the UK regarding the Nepal–India border dispute.

“We have spoken not only with India and China but also with the UK government. Our view is that the UK should also take an interest, as the issue dates back to the period when the British controlled India,” Shah said.

Opposition political parties, foreign affairs experts and border analysts in Nepal had heavily criticised Shah for the remarks, saying they undermined Nepal’s long-standing position on the border dispute with India and weakened Nepal’s stance in future negotiations with India on border issues.

In a statement issued on Sunday evening, the Nepali government said the Prime Minister’s comments were connected to technical studies conducted in border areas where citizens of one country have been using or occupying land that technically falls within the territory of the other country.

“The matter mentioned by the Prime Minister in Parliament was primarily related to encroachment in the no-man’s land area and cross-border occupation,” the statement said.

Nepal’s Foreign Ministry noted that due to the “Fixed Boundary Principle” adopted in river boundary areas, situations have emerged in some places where Nepali citizens cultivate or reside on land technically located on the Indian side, while Indian citizens use land falling within Nepal’s territory.

Nepal and India share a long and open border, much of which was defined by the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli. However, mapping remains incomplete in areas such as Susta and Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh-Kalapani.

During Tuesday’s media briefing in New Delhi, the MEA spokesperson also spoke about the ongoing India visit of Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Rabi Lamichhane.

“The visit of Rabi Lamichhane, President of Nepal’s National Independent Party, is taking place in India. The two countries share close people-to-people ties, and there are also relationships between political parties on both sides and these contacts continue. He has arrived in India and has met several individuals. He is also scheduled to hold a number of high-level meetings with senior leaders,” he said.

IANS