India on Tuesday ruled out any kind of mediation after Nepal’s new Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, called for the involvement of China and the UK in resolving the boundary issues between Kathmandu and New Delhi.
Shah had made the suggestion on Sunday in response to a question in the Nepalese Parliament on plans by India and China to resume border trade through Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura — areas in the Pitthoragarh district of Uttarakhand that Kathmandu claims — from June 1.
Reuters quoted Shah as saying that Nepal was in touch with China and Britain regarding the border issue, besides discussing the matter with India.
“Since this problem dates from the time when British India left the region, it is our view that England should be involved in this matter,” the report quoted him as saying, adding that he wanted China also involved since some of the areas under dispute fell in the India-Nepal-China trijunction.
External affairs ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly briefing that there were established bilateral mechanisms to deal with 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 said.
Shah’s remarks triggered a row as he said even Nepal was encroaching on Indian territory while iterating Kathmandu’s long-standing position that India had encroached on Nepal’s land.
Asked about Shah’s remarks, Jaiswal said: “While close to 98 per cent of the India-Nepal boundary has been demarcated, there are some unresolved segments. The shifting of the course of the Gandak river has resulted in this situation. In addition, there are cases of cross-border occupation and encroachment on no-man’s land in demarcated segments of the boundary which are currently being mapped jointly.”
This is similar to the clarification issued by the Nepalese foreign ministry on Sunday after Shah’s remarks kicked up a row. According to The Kathmandu Post, the ministry said “the issue mentioned by the Prime Minister in Parliament is essentially related to encroachment in the Dasgaja area (no-man’s land) and cross-border occupation”.
As for the three disputed areas — Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura — the Nepalese foreign ministry said the border was still under mapping in these places.
Amit Shah meet
Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting with a Nepalese delegation led by Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Rabi Lamichhane, who is on a visit here. In a post on X, the home minister’s office said he congratulated Lamichhane on the RSP’s victory in the Nepal elections and conveyed India’s best wishes for the success of the new government.
