Foreign Minister Khanaal: Border Demarcation Pending Only in Susta, Limpiyadhura, Lipulek, Kalapani

Kathmandu. Foreign Minister Shishir Khanaal has stated that border demarcation work remains only in the Susta, Limpiyadhura, Lipulek, and Kalapani areas of the border between Nepal and India.

Addressing the National Assembly meeting on Thursday, he clarified that the international border between Nepal and India is established and guided by the Sugauli Treaty of 1816.

Minister Khanaal mentioned that problems related to encroachment of the no-man's-land and occupation from across the border still exist in some other parts of the country. Defending the controversial border issue raised by Prime Minister Balen Shah in the House of Representatives recently, he clarified that the statement was primarily related only to the encroachment of the no-man's-land and cross-border occupation.

He informed the parliament that to manage the border between the two countries systematically and scientifically, work is underway to construct and repair border pillars in areas where demarcation has not been done, collect data on no-man's-land encroachment, and document cross-border occupation.

Briefing on the border situation in parliament, he said, 'To systematically and scientifically demarcate the long border between Nepal and India, border pillars are being constructed and repaired in demarcated areas, and data on no-man's-land encroachment and cross-border occupation is being collected by the border-related mechanisms and technical teams of both countries. 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.'

Foreign Minister Khanaal informed that the work of the Nepal-India Joint Technical Committee, which had been stalled for various reasons for a long time, has been reactivated. He stated that joint technical teams from Nepal and India are currently deployed in the border area, carrying out joint data collection and technical study.

He clarified that the government is in continuous dialogue with the neighboring friendly country on the issues of border defense and land management and is committed to resolving problems through technical mechanisms.