New Delhi, June 25 — Nepal ke PM Balendra Shah ne apne government ke commitment ko dobara zara hai ki wo India-Nepal border dispute ko dialogue aur diplomacy ke zariye solve karne ke liye poori tarah se taiyaar hain. Lekin New Delhi ke saath rishtay thoda tense karne wale is bayaan mein, Shah ne UK se bhi is issue ko handle karne ki appeal ki hai, isliye ki ye issue British colonial period se judaa hai.
Ravivar ko Nepal ki Parliament mein bolte hue Shah ne kaha ki dono deshon ne ek doosre ke territory mein multiple locations par extra encroachment kiya hai. Unhone zyada zor diya ki dono sarkaron ko historians, surveyors aur local experts ki joint teams banani chahiye taaki negotiations ke zariye dispute solve ho sake. “Hamara view hai ki UK ko bhi is mein interest lena chahiye, kyunki ye issue tab ka hai jab British India ne region chod diya tha,” Shah ne Kathmandu Post ke report ke hisaab se kaha.
Border dispute mein tension tab aur badha jab May ke shuru mein, Shah jo ki ek former rapper aur Kathmandu ke mayor the, ne office sambhaalne ke just ek mahine baad. Tension tab badha jab India ne Kailash Mansarovar Yatra ko Lipulekh Pass ke zariye resume karne ka decision liya, jo route Nepal claim karta hai. Kathmandu ne is move ka protest kiya aur is issue ko India aur China dono ke saamne uthaya, jinhone pilgrimage route resume karne ko support kiya tha.
Lekin India ne Nepal ke claim ko reject kar diya, ye keh kar ki ye claim historical facts ya evidence se supported nahi hai. “Aise unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims ko maintain nahi kiya ja sakta,” ek Indian government ke spokesperson ne kaha. Ministry of External Affairs ne maintain kiya ki Kalapani area, jismein Limpiyadhura aur Lipulekh bhi shamil hain, wo India ke Uttarakhand state ka integral hissa hai.
Shah ne ye bhi acknowledge kiya ki Nepal ne is issue ko India ke saamne uthaya hai aur New Delhi ne discuss karne ke liye joint teams banane par agree kiya hai. “India ka response ye hai ki dono sarkaron ke teams mein historians, surveyors aur territory ke experts honge aur table talks ke zariye solution dhundenge,” Nepal ke PM ne kaha.
Iske saath hi, Nepal ke Ministry of Foreign Affairs ne clarification diya ki Shah ke “encroachment” ke remarks ka matlab sirf no-man’s land aur cross-border occupation issues hain jo dono deshon ke beech hain. Ye clarification tab aaya jab dono desh Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri ke Kathmandu visit ko schedule karne ki koshish kar rahe the. Pehle ke reports mein kaha gaya tha ki ye visit mid-May mein hona tha, lekin Indian government ne baad mein kaha ki koi date final nahi hui hai.
Chal raha border dispute high-level diplomatic engagements mein aur delays la sakta hai, ye concern badh gaya hai. Dispute bilateral ties ko strengthen karne ki koshish ko complicated bana sakta hai, especially jab Nepal ek naye government ke transition mein hai under Shah. Analysts ka kehna hai ki jabki dono sides dialogue ke zariye dispute solve karne ke liye ready hain, UK jaise third party ka involvement negotiations ke complexity ko aur badha sakta hai.
Abhi tak na toh India ne aur na hi Nepal ne UK intervention ke liye Shah ke call ka official response diya hai. New Delhi ke Ministry of External Affairs ne abhi tak is matter par koi formal statement nahi diya hai. Border dispute abhi bhi dono deshon ke liye ek critical challenge hai, jismein historical, political aur strategic implications hain.
