Nepal panel for new map

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 14

The controversy over India issuing new maps after the creation of Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has refused to die down in Nepal.

The new map issued on November 4 not only included Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in J&K UT and Gilgit-Baltistan in Ladakh UT but also showed Kalapani and Lipulekh, disputed between India and Nepal, as its territory.

The map had nothing to do with Nepal as they were meant to show the new boundaries of the two UTs carved out of the erstwhile state of J&K, but Nepal parliament’s International Relations Committee has now asked the government to issue a new political map that includes Kalapani and Lipulekh inside Nepalese territory. Earlier, Nepali parliament’s State Affairs Committee had asked the government to update the political map of Nepal.

Both governments have, however, refrained from fanning the flames. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali ignored the summons from the Parliamentary International Relations Committee.

It also issued a statement observing during Foreign Secretary-level Joint meetings, responsibility had been assigned to the Foreign Secretaries of both countries to resolve the remaining border-related issues in consultation with technicians concerned.

“The Nepal Government is committed to protecting its international border and any border-related issue relating to the two friendly countries needs to be resolved through a diplomatic channel on the basis of historical documents and evidence,” added the statement.