Kathmandu, Nepal May 9, 2020: The Nepal government has on Saturday strongly objected to the construction of a strategic link road by the Indian government connecting Dharchula of the Indian State of Uttarakhand with the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China via the Lipulekh Pass, a Nepali territory in Kanchanpur district.
The government of Nepal has learnt with regret about the inauguration Friday by India of a ‘Link Road’ connecting to Lipulekh (Nepal), reads the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
The government of Nepal would like to call upon the Government of India to refrain from carrying out any activity inside the territory of Nepal, the ministry has stated in the statement.
Responding to the widespread condemns against of the construction of a strategic link road by the Indian government, the government of Nepal also protested the move through the press release, just a day after India officially revealed about the construction of the road. The issue came into light after India's Defiance Minister Rajnath Singh announced about the construction of the link road through a twitter message.
The Nepal government has reminded the Indian government that Nepal has consistently maintained the Sugauli Treaty signed between Nepal and India in 1816 which clearly states that all the territories east of Mahakali River that include Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal.
Such a unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries, the ministry has stated in the press release further adding that the government of Nepal remains committed to seek diplomatic solutions to border issues. Nepal intends to solve the boundary issue 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, reads the statement.
Nepal government had also issued a similar note at the time when India had issued a new political map by keeping the area inside of its territory. However, neither the India responded the concern nor the Nepal government attempted to resolve the issue through the high level talks with the Indian authorities.
