KATHMANDU: India has reiterated that any involvement of a third party in the Nepal–India border dispute is unacceptable, stressing that all outstanding boundary issues should be resolved through bilateral mechanisms.
During a regular press briefing on Thursday, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the border issue between Nepal and India is strictly a bilateral matter and does not require third-party mediation.
Responding to recent remarks by Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah and a subsequent clarification issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jaiswal said existing bilateral mechanisms are sufficient to address all boundary-related concerns.
The comments came after Shah stated in Parliament that Nepal had also engaged with the United Kingdom regarding border issues and suggested that Britain had a role to play because the dispute originated during the British colonial era.
Jaiswal said approximately 98 percent of the Nepal–India border has already been demarcated, with only a few limited areas remaining unresolved.
According to him, some technical disputes have emerged in certain locations due to changes in the course of the Gandak River. He also noted that instances of encroachment and encroachment on no-man’s land (dashgaja) have been reported even in demarcated areas.
He said the two countries are jointly undertaking mapping and verification efforts in such areas through established mechanisms.
The Indian Foreign Ministry emphasized that robust bilateral frameworks are already in place to address all border-related matters and maintained that there is neither a role nor a need for any third party in resolving issues between the two neighboring countries.
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