Kathmandu, May 9
Terming
the road construction in the Nepali territory encroached by India a 'unilateral
act', the government has asked the southern neighbour in strong words to
refrain from carrying out any activity inside Nepal's territory.
"The government of Nepal calls upon the government
of India to refrain from carrying out any activity inside the territory of
Nepal," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a
statement on Saturday.
"The government of Nepal has learnt with regret
about the 'inauguration' yesterday by India of 'Link Road' connecting to Lipu
Lekh (Nepal), which passes through Nepali territory," it added.
This unilateral act runs against the understanding
reached between the two countries including at the level of Prime Ministers
that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiations, said
the ministry.
The government also said that it was still committed
to seek diplomatic solution to boundary issues on the basis of the historical
treaty, documents, facts and maps in keeping with the spirit of close and
friendly ties between the two countries.
Nepal has again reiterated that the Kalapani area
belonged to it. "The
Government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty of
1816, all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura,
Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal," read the statement.
India
has constructed about 80-km long road from Pithoragarh to Lipu Lekh through the
Nepali territory. Indian Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh had inaugurated the
road the other day.
It
said that this was reiterated by Nepal several times in the past and most recently
through a diplomatic note addressed to the government of India on 20 November
2019 in response to the new political map issued by the latter.
Last
November, India published a new political map of the country including Nepal's
Kalapani region, about 350 square kilometres, in its territory and the government
had sent its objection to the map demanding changes in it.
Likewise, the government had expressed its
disagreement in 2015 through separate diplomatic notes addressed to the governments
of both India and China when the two sides agreed to include Lipu Lekh Pass as
a bilateral trade route without Nepal’s consent.
In the joint statement issued on 15 May 2015 during the
official visit of the Prime Minister of India to China, the two countries had agreed
to use Lipu Lekh as bilateral point while the pass is in Nepal-China border.
India has moved the border much toward east than the
actual origin of the Kali River, Limpiyadhura and intends to encroach the
Tinker Pass, a famous trade pass in the high mountains.
According to the MoFA, Nepal reemphasizes that pending
boundary issues between the two countries should be resolved through diplomatic
means. With this in mind, the government of Nepal has proposed twice the dates for
holding the meeting of the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, as
mandated by their leaders, for which the response from the Indian side is still
awaited.
Likewise, the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on
Nepal-India Relations, with a mandate to recommend measures and institutional
framework with a view to assess the bilateral relations and take it to a new
level, has completed its report but India has not shown interest to accept it.
The government of Nepal is ready to receive the
report and believes that it will be in the interest of the two countries to
implement its recommendations which will also help address the outstanding
issues left by the history, thereby paving the way for ever stronger
neighbourly relations, read the MoFA statement.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 May 2020. 
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