PM’s views in parliament was related to ‘cross border occupation’: Foreign Minister Khanal

Kathmandu: Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal today made clear to the federal parliament the views Prime Minister Balendra Shah gave during a question-and-answer session in the House of Representatives meeting on May 31.

He also shared information on issues related to the Nepal-India border.

Minister Khanal clarified that PM Shah’s statement regarding the Nepal-India border concerned ‘cross-border occupation’. Nepal and India have intimate relations, he said, adding that the government is committed to resolving the two-country border issues via diplomatic channels based on the historic treaty, agreement and map.

He explained that as the two countries have had an open border for a long time, there are some cross-holdings in no-man’s-land between Nepal and India, and it was based on internal consensus. The locals from both countries on the border are using cross-border lands for cultivation.

It was the very point PM Shah referred to, Minister Khanal asserted. “While responding to queries in a parliamentary meeting, PM Shah mentioned the name of a friendly country, the UK, which was directly related to when the Sugauli Treaty was signed in 1816, which set Nepal’s boundary,” Minister Khanal stated in the clarification. No third-country mediation.

“Nepal is not seeking third-country mediation on border issues at all,” Khanal argued, adding, “The PM only signalled that Nepal could take help for any additional resources of that time.”

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