Lipu-Lekh dispute: Govt told to clear position

KATHMANDU, JUL 02 - Parliament on Wednesday directed the government to make its position clear on the recent trade agreement signed by India and China to expand border trade at Lip

u-Lekh pass , a far-western point of Nepal.

Speaker Subas Nembang issued the directive to the government after cross-party lawmakers demanded that the government break its silence over the agreement. “I draw government’s attention to inform the House about the agreement between the two neighbouring countries on the use of Nepali land for their trade purpose,” he said.

The row over Lipu-Lekh, located on the Nepal-China border, erupted after a joint statement issued on May 15 in Beijing during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit read that the two of Nepal’s neighbours agreed to expand border trade through the pass.

The 28th point of the joint statement reads that the two sides recognised that enhancing border areas cooperation through border trade, pilgrimage by people of the two countries and other exchanges can effectively promote mutual trust, and agreed to further broaden this cooperation to transform the border into a bridge of cooperation and exchanges. “The two sides agreed to hold negotiation on augmenting the list of traded commodities, and expand the border trade at Nathu La, Qiangla/Lipu-Lekh Pass and Shipki La,” it says.  

UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Janardhan Sharma picked up the issue at the beginning of meeting, demanding government’s position on it. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is silent while India and China have forged an agreement to use Nepali land without informing the government of Nepal, Sharma said.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Bharat Bahadur Khadka said the agreement has made country weak. “I ask the government to settle the dispute soon. In the past, we had border disputes with India, now it seems we have a border issue with China as well,” said Khadka, demanding a taskforce to settle the issues.

Chairman of Rastriya Janamorcha Chitra Bahadur KC said the country is failing to secure its territory as leaders are busy in “horse trading”. Chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal Kamal Thapa urged Speaker Nembang not to conduct any other business in the House until the government makes its position clear on the matter. Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey will make a statement in Parliament on Thursday.

‘Foreign Ministry looking into the matter’

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said the government has taken seriously a recent agreement between India and China to build trade routes through Lipu-Lekh pass and that it is trying to establish the fact that the pass belongs to Nepal.

Receiving a memorandum from CPN-UML affiliated Youth Association of Nepal on Wednesday, PM Koirala said, “We have been discussing the matter with our foreign affairs experts and I have also instructed the Foreign Ministry to take up the matter at earliest.”

The association has urged the PM to take up the issue with India and China immediately to cancel the agreement.