International

Dispute will end when India agrees on Limipiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, says Nepal Foriegn Minister

Nepal ‘still waiting for a response from India’ to resolve border dispute

Pradeep Gyawali, the foreign minister of Nepal has said that they’ve been waiting for India’s response for the resolution of dispute that has triggered tension between the two South Asian neighbors.

Responding to questions in Parliament, foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali has said that the dispute will only end if India agrees on Limipiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, The Kathmandu Post reported.

In an interview with The Associated Press held on Tuesday, Gyawali said that requests to talk were made in November and December last year, and again in May.

“We have expressed time and again that Nepal wants to sit at the table to resolve this problem,” Gyawali said.

“We are waiting for formal negotiations so that these two countries with… a very unique type of partnership can develop a more inspiring relationship that reflects the requirements of the 21st century,” he added.

The dispute triggered when India inaugurated a Himalayan link road built in a disputed area which lies at a three-way junction with Tibet and China. The 50 mile road was inaugurated by Indian Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh. The road passes through Lipulekh Himalayan pass, which is one of the most feasible trade routes connecting China and India.

Nepal expressed its opposition the inauguration of the road, terming it as a trademark of “bullying by a larger neighbour,”
therefore, triggering a dispute.

Ahead of this upheaval, on May 20, the government of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli issued a new political map of Nepal that depicted that disputed territory as an area belonging to Nepal.

According to a report by The Kathmandu Post published on Tuesday, Oli government had introduced an amendment bill of the constitution in the Parliament to seek consensus for the new map which was applauded by the opposition.

Even though, Nepal was never under colonial rule, it has been claiming the regions of Limipiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh as per the 1816 Sugauli Treaty with the British rule, nonetheless, the areas have been within the Indian line of control since the India and China war of 1962.

Nepal wants the talks to be held soon while as per the report by Al Jazeera, India does not want to hold negotiations until its corona virus outbreak eases.

“If the coronavirus is an obstacle for not being able to hold diplomatic dialogue soon, it should have been an obstacle for the inauguration of the link road as well,” Gyawali said.

“But if the coronavirus did not create any problem to the inauguration, that means there are some controversies, some paradoxes,” he added.

The dispute has triggered an exchange of bold statements and comments from both the sides.

Gyawali has said “once, India agrees to historical facts and evidence, then there will be no border issue with India. We do not have any interest in placing land that belongs to others in our map. We don’t want to acquire additional land. We are just looking for our land that was squeezed or trimmed after Sugauli treaty.”

 

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