Nepal summons Indian envoy over construction of new Lipulekh road

The Nepal government summoned the Indian envoy on Monday to protest against the construction of a road in Lipulekh area claimed by Kathmandu, signalling an escalation of diplomatic row on the matter.

India had on Saturday rejected Nepal’s initial protest against the construction of the road to Lipulekh on the border with China, saying the region is “completely within the territory of India” and both sides could resolve such boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue.

People familiar with developments said India’s envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra was summoned to the foreign ministry in Kathmandu, where foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali handed over a diplomatic note of protest.

The foreign ministry also tweeted: “Foreign Minister Hon. @Pradeepgyawalik conveyed Government of Nepal’s position on boundary issues to Ambassador of India to Nepal H.E. Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra at a meeting held at MOFA today and handed over a diplomatic note in this regard.”

No further details were immediately available.

There was no immediate response to the development from Indian officials.

The border row erupted months after Nepal was irked by the depiction of Kalapani, a region claimed by Kathmandu, as part of Uttarakhand in new Indian maps showing the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Nepal had sought talks to address the Kalapani issue, but New Delhi rejected Kathmandu’s protest, saying the new maps accurately depicted Indian territory.

Earlier on Monday, Gyawali said Nepal could not wait for end of Covid-19 crisis for boundary talks. Gyawali, who was summoned by Parliament’s international relations committee, also said Nepal will hold talks with China after sorting issue with India, The Kathmandu Post said.