Nepal FM says map including Lipulekh, Kalapani 'is national commitment, not old baggage’

Nepal foreign minister Shisir Khanal told Parliament on Tuesday that the country’s map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura — Indian territories in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district — could never be treated as “old baggage”, clarifying remarks he made during his official visit to India in June. Khanal said the map and the constitutional amendment endorsing it represented a “shared national commitment” backed unanimously by Nepal Parliament.The clarification came after Nepali Congress lawmaker Sita Thapaliya asked whether Khanal’s statement in New Delhi that the new govt carried “no old baggage” meant it was distancing itself from decisions taken by previous govts, particularly the controversial 2020 map. “The political map of Nepal covering Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, and the constitutional amendment endorsing it, were unanimously approved by Parliament and represent a shared national commitment of the Nepali people,” Khanal said.“They are our constitutional and sovereign documents and cannot be regarded as a burden under any circumstances,” he added, saying safeguarding Nepal’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, borders and national dignity remained “a fundamental and permanent responsibility of any govt”. Khanal said outstanding differences with neighbouring countries should be addressed through dialogue and cooperation.Khanal’s June 5-7 visit was his first official foreign trip after taking office. During talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar on June 6, he said, “Nepal’s new govt carries a clear and decisive mandate for good governance, economic transformation and result-driven diplomacy. There is no old baggage, only a resolve to build a genuinely transformative relationship with our closest and most important partner, India.”Clarifying that position in Parliament, Khanal said, “The current govt wants to take relations with neighbouring and friendly countries in a transformative direction based on mutual equality, respect, trust and economic partnership, without being constrained by prejudice, narrow-mindedness or unnecessary distrust.” He added that govt and foreign ministry would pursue “clear, mature and results-oriented diplomacy” with national interest at its centre.The comments came two days before Nepal finance minister Swarnim Wagle’s scheduled Sept 17-18 visit to New Delhi, where he is expected to meet senior Indian ministers for talks on post-flood reconstruction, economic cooperation, energy and connectivity.The territorial dispute is particularly sensitive for India because the three areas lie near the India-Nepal-China trijunction. Nepal claims them on the basis of its interpretation of the 1816 Sugauli Treaty and the source of Kali river, while India maintains that the territories are part of Uttarakhand.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.