Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah Discusses Kalapani-Lipulekh Dispute with China and UK Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah announced on Sunday that he had engaged in discussions with China and the United Kingdom regarding the contentious Kalapani-Lipulekh region, according to reports from The Kathmandu Post. The dispute, which has long been a source of tension between Nepal and India, involves the border area near the trijunction of India, Tibet, and Nepal. Shah emphasized that the United Kingdom should also be involved in resolving the issue, citing historical ties to the region during the British colonial era. India has consistently maintained that the Kalapani area is part of the Indian state of Uttarakhand and has rejected Nepal’s territorial claims. Shah, however, accused both Kathmandu and New Delhi of encroaching on each other’s land, though he did not specify which regions in India were allegedly affected. He stated that the Nepali government had sent a diplomatic note to India regarding the encroachment, and that India had responded. The border dispute between India and Nepal escalated in 2019 after Nepal objected to an Indian map that included Kalapani as part of Indian territory. India denied altering its border with Nepal, asserting the map accurately represented its territory. Tensions further intensified in May 2020 when India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, inaugurated a new route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Lipulekh Pass. Nepal argued that this road construction violated a 1816 treaty with British colonizers, which it claims grants it sovereignty over the area. In June 2020, Nepal’s Parliament amended its constitution to include the Kalapani-Lipulekh region as part of its territory.#india #united_kingdom #kathmandu_post #nepal_prime_minister_balendra_shah #kalapani_lipulekh
