PM Balen Says Nepal Has Evidence on Kalapani and Lipulekh, Calls for Evidence-Based Talks

Kathmandu — Prime Minister Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, has said that Nepal has clear evidence to support its claim over Kalapani and Lipulekh, stressing that the government was only speaking about the country’s own border.

Addressing the general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, Prime Minister Shah said Nepal considers Kalapani and Lipulekh its own territory and is ready to discuss the issue on the basis of evidence.

“We spoke about the border of our own country. We said Kalapani and Lipulekh are our land, and we have evidence. If necessary, we may also bring evidence from the British side involved in the Sugauli Treaty. But they, India, objected. I wonder why they objected. We have evidence that it is our land. If you have evidence, bring it, and let us sit for talks,” Shah said.

His remarks come amid renewed debate over the long-running Nepal-India border dispute involving Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. Nepal has long argued that the areas fall east of the Kali, or Mahakali, River, citing the 1816 Sugauli Treaty as a key historical basis. Historical discussions around the treaty often focus on Article 5, which refers to the Kali River as the boundary marker between Nepal and British India.

The issue gained fresh political and diplomatic weight in 2020, when Nepal issued a new political map including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as Nepali territory. The government-approved map increased Nepal’s officially stated area from 147,181 square kilometers to 147,516 square kilometers, according to officials cited at the time.

Prime Minister Shah presented the matter as a question of sovereignty and historical documentation, rather than a matter of political provocation. He indicated that Nepal was prepared for dialogue with India, but said such dialogue should be based on documents and evidence.

India, however, has maintained that the boundary issue should be handled through existing bilateral mechanisms and has rejected any role for third parties in resolving Nepal-India border disputes. India’s Ministry of External Affairs recently reiterated that position after Nepal raised the issue again.

Shah’s latest statement suggests that the government wants to keep the dispute on the diplomatic table while reinforcing Nepal’s official position that Kalapani and Lipulekh are part of Nepali territory.