Nepal rejects third-party involvement in border issue with India: ‘Firmly committed to bilateral approach’

NEpal's strange government minister, Shishir Khanal, on wed clarified that the Nepal-India edge conflict is a bilateral matter and that the government has not sought any third-party involvement in resolving it with India, news agency ANI reported.Addressing the Parliament, Khanal emphasised that Nepal remains firmly committed to a bilateral approach."What I would like to clarify in this esteemed House is that the Nepal-India border is a bilateral issue and Nepal is always committed to resolving this problem through diplomatic dialogue and negotiations based on historical treaties, agreements and maps in accordance with the spirit and spirit of the close relationship between Nepal and India," Khanal said.Also Read: All about Lipulekh: The key pass that has India and Nepal locked in a 210-year-old dispute | ExplainedThe clarification comes after Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah sparked a political controversy with his statements saying he has sought the participation of China and the United Kingdom to address the long-standing issue. His suggestions drew a pushback from both the Indian government and Nepal's domestic opposition.Khanal added that the prime minister’s comments were not a call for mediation but meant that any historical reference materials from the era of the Sugauli Treaty could, if available, be useful as supplementary aids to the ongoing technical process."The issue raised by the Prime Minister in the Parliament is basically related to the encroachment of the Dashgaja area and 'cross-border occupation'," Khanal said, adding that border-related mechanisms and technical teams of Nepal and India are actively working on mapping, maintaining border pillars and collecting data on encroachment and occupation along the frontier.“The border-related mechanisms and technical teams of the two countries are active in the areas where the long border between Nepal and India has been systematically and scientifically mapped, to construct and maintain border pillars, collect data on encroachment of the Dashgaja area and 'cross-border occupation',” he added.Khanal explained that the Prime Minister's concerns were primarily focused on the practical challenges of "cross-border occupation" and encroachment within the Dashgaja (no-man's land) areas."The work of the technical committee, which has been stalled for a long time, is currently active in the border area, and joint data collection is underway. The Nepal-India Boundary Working Group (BWG) and other mechanisms related to the border are conducting mapping work on the locations of No Man's Land encroachment and Cross-Border Occupation along the Nepal-India border. Detailed details on this matter will be available later."India's stance on Shah's commentsThe clarification came after external affairs minister spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that there is no role for any third party in the bilateral matters of India and Nepal."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. All concerned parties should be clear that any bilateral matters between India and Nepal are to be resolved solely between the two countries, and there is no role for any third party in such matters.”“Approximately 98 per cent of the India–Nepal border has already been demarcated. However, a few issues remain unresolved in certain sections. This situation has arisen due to changes in the course of the Gandak River.”“In addition, there are cases of cross-border encroachment and encroachments on no-man's land in some demarcated areas, which are currently being jointly mapped,” Jaiswal added.What did Balen Shah say?Shah said that apart from discussions with India on the Lipulekh Pass border dispute, Nepal was in touch with China and Britain as well."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," he said."You will be surprised to know a fact that I learnt only after becoming Prime Minister. It is not only India that has encroached on Nepalese territory, but Nepal has also encroached on Indian territory in many places," Shah said during his maiden appearance in the ongoing parliamentary session.(With ANI inputs).