Nepal govt cannot locate original Sugauli treaty: Foreign Minister Khanal

Kathmandu, Aug 10 (PTI) The Nepal government cannot locate the original 1816 Sugauli treaty that established the Himalayan nation’s boundary with British India, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said on Monday.

Replying to a query in the House of Representatives, Khanal also said that it remained unclear whether Nepal has an official copy of the treaty signed with Britain, The Kathmandu Post reported.

His remarks came at a time when the Nepal-India border dispute has intensified following an agreement between India and China to reopen the Lipulekh trade route.

Nepal claims that Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani are its territories, whereas India maintains that the territories belong to it.

“The Government of Nepal does not have clear information

on whether we possess the official treaty documents. There are records showing that some documents related to certain treaties are kept at the National Archives. But we do not have clear information as to whether those are the actual official treaties,” Khanal said.

He, however, said that Nepal has documents related to the 1816 treaty and the 1950 treaties.

The Treaty of Sugauli was signed between Nepal and the East India Company, largely defining Nepal’s territorial boundaries and its relationship with British India.

Similarly, the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, signed between Nepal and India, established provisions granting Nepalis and Indians reciprocal rights in several areas in each other’s countries.

India and Nepal share an open border that is over 1,751 km under the 1950 treaty, which allows citizens of both countries to travel and work across the border without visas.

In 2016, when the Eminent Persons’ Group on Nepal-India Relations began discussions on reviewing or replacing the 1950 treaty, the Nepali side attempted to locate the original document. It failed to find the original, the paper said.

The government subsequently provided the Bhekh Bahadur Thapa-led committee with a second copy of the 1950 treaty.

A parliamentary inquiry into the whereabouts of the original documents concluded that the original copies of both the Sugauli treaty and the Nepal-India treaty could not be found in Nepal.

The committee said it had conducted a thorough search of all possible locations where historical documents might be preserved, including libraries, archives and repositories, as well as the Department of Archaeology, Narayanhiti Palace Museum, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2019, then Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said his ministry possessed copies of both treaties but was uncertain whether they were the originals.

“We have both treaties, but we have to forensically verify whether these copies are originals or not,” Gyawali said. “We are also trying to find historical documents and maps in India and the United Kingdom.” On Monday, Foreign Minister Khanal also said that Nepal will review its treaties and agreements with its national interests at the centre. PTI SBP ZH ZH