There is no role for any third party in bilateral matters between India and Nepal, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.

Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was responding to a question about Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s statement that Kathmandu had held discussions with China and the United Kingdom regarding the Kalapani-Limpiadhura-Lipulekh region.

India maintains that the area is part of Uttarakhand and has rejected Kathmandu’s territorial claims to the region.

The external affairs ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that while close to 98% of the India-Nepali boundary has been demarcated, there are some “unresolved segments” along the border.

“The shifting of the Gandak river has resulted in this,” Jaiswal told reporters. “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.”

India and Nepal have established bilateral mechanisms to deal with all aspects of boundary matters, said the ministry spokesperson. “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.

Shah claimed in Nepal’s parliament on Sunday that Kathmandu and New Delhi had encroached upon each other’s territories. He said that the two countries had agreed to resolve the dispute “sitting together with the help of historians, surveyors and concerned experts through diplomatic means”.

The Nepali prime minister said his country also held discussions about the dispute with China, as the region sits near the trijunction of India, Tibet and Nepal, as well as the United Kingdom.

“Our view is that the UK should also take an interest, as the issue dates back to the period when British India left the region,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

Border problems

The border problem between India and Nepal began in 2019 after Kathmandu objected to a new map released by India, which showed the Kalapani area as part of Indian territory.

In response, New Delhi said that it had not made any change to its border with Nepal and that the new map depicts Indian territory accurately.

The tensions escalated in May 2020 when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Lipulekh Pass.

Nepal has repeatedly claimed that India’s decision to build the road was a breach of an agreement between the two countries. It claims the Lipulekh Pass on the basis of a treaty signed with British colonisers in 1816.

Written by Neerad Pandharipande. Edited by Sneha.