Nepal, India encroaching on each other's land, UK must step in: PM Balen Shah

Key Takeaways

• Balen Shah (File photo) UK should step in as border issue dates back to British India period Balen Shah NEW DELHI: Nepal PM Balendra Shah backed dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the border dispute with India but, in remarks unlikely to go down well with New Delhi, he also urged the UK to take interest in addressing the issue, saying his govt had already discussed it with London and China.
• Responding to questions in Parliament on Sunday, Shah said both India and Nepal had encroached on each other's territory.The border dispute had seen a flare-up early May - just over a month after Shah was sworn in - after Kathmandu protested the decision by India to resume with support from China the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Uttarakhand state crossing at Lipulekh Pass that is claimed by Nepal.
• Kathmandu had raised the issue with both India and China.India had strongly rejected Nepal's claim, saying it is neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence, and that such unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable.The rapper-turned-politician and former Kathmandu mayor may now have opened a new can of worms by seeking UK's intervention.
• "We have spoken not only with India and China, but also with the UK govt.
• Our view is that the UK should also take an interest, as the issue dates back to the period when British India left the region," Shah said, according to a report by Kathmandu Post.The PM further said he came to know that not only had India encroached on Nepal's land, but "Nepal had also encroached on India's land in multiple places".