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Tezzbuzz Desk – India has responded to Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah’s recent statement regarding the border dispute between India and Nepal. The Government of India has clarified that the issues to India-Nepal border are completely bilateral and no third party can have any role in their resolution.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that there are already established bilateral mechanisms to resolve border issues between India and Nepal. In such a situation, there is no need for any external country or organization to resolve any dispute between the two countries.

This reaction has come after the statement of Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah in the Parliament in which he had said that both India and Nepal have occupied some of each other’s lands. He also claimed that he has tried to contact China and Britain to resolve the issue.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that about 98 percent of the India-Nepal border has already been demarcated. However, disputes still remain in some border areas due to technical and geographical reasons. According to the ministry, due to changes in the course of the Gandak river from time to time, complications have arisen regarding boundary demarcation in some areas.

The spokesperson said that cases to cross-border encroachment and no-man’s land have also come to light at some places. These areas are being jointly mapped so that the pending issues between the two countries can be resolved.

Meanwhile, a political debate has erupted within Nepal regarding Balen Shah’s statement. Many political parties have criticized his statement. As the controversy escalated, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry also had to issue a clarification. The ministry said the Prime Minister’s comments were mainly in the context of technical issues to border pillars, Dashagaja (no-man’s land) and cross-border land use.

According to Nepal’s Foreign Ministry, technical studies have revealed some areas where the land currently being used by Nepal may fall within the Indian territory and there are also some areas which are being used by India even though they belong to Nepal.

India has once again reiterated that all border issues will be resolved only through dialogue and mutual cooperation and the role of any third party in this process is not acceptable.