Headlines
Nepal summons Indian envoy over 'trade obstruction'
By
By Anil Giri Kathmandu, Sep 25
With hundreds of Nepal-bound
cargo-bearing trucks halted at the border, Indian ambassador Ranjit Rae
was summoned to the foreign ministry on Friday for clarification
whether India had imposed any restriction on trade with the Himalayan
nation.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Khaga Raj Adhikari also
sought clarification over India's reported displeasure over the
country's new constitution, a ministry statement said.
Analysts
here say that this was probably after a long time that Nepal had
expressed its displeasure with India and "summoned" the Indian envoy.
During
the meeting at the foreign affairs ministry in Singha Durbar, Adhikari
shared the current situation at border checkpoints between both the
nations and sought India's cooperation in ensuring uninterrupted
movement of vehicles carrying essential commodities to Nepal as earlier,
the statement said.
While highlighting the significance of
excellent relations existing between the two governments and peoples,
Adhikari stressed the need to remove lapses in the supply chain that
have surfaced in recent days.
He also assured Rae that there
would not be any security problem for transport vehicles inside Nepal
since adequate arrangements were already in place.
Besides, the minister reiterated full commitment to ensuring security to life and property of Indian nationals in Nepal.
Ambassador
Rae said he would convey the issues raised by the minister to the
higher authorities in the Indian government, said the statement.
The
envoy said India has no intention to block trade tied with Nepal and
clarified that the obstruction to the Nepal-bound cargo was due the
unrest, protests and demonstrations on the Nepali side.
Hundreds
of freight-carrying trucks and fuel tankers remained halted on the
Indian side of the international border following concerns about violent
protests in Nepal in the wake of the promulgation of the new
constitution.
The Indian envoy also held separate meetings with
top leaders of major political parties, including K.P. Oli, chairman of
the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the
country's former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Aides close
to Oli and Nepal told IANS that Rae said the Nepal government deputing
Forest Minister Mahesh Acharya, a close confidant of Prime Minister
Sushil Koirala, for talks with the agitating Madhes-based parties was a
welcome step.
The agitating Madhesi parties from the Terai region
maintain that the Terai-based people and ethnic groups fail to find
adequate representation in the country's new constitution that was
promulgated on September 20.
They have intensified protests at
the border entry points to build pressure on the Nepal government to
meet their demands for amending the constitution.
Analysts in
Kathmandu say Nepal-India relations were witnessing a new low following
the promulgation of the new constitution in Nepal and the subsequent
developments.
As the political and constitutional standoff
continues, India has issued three statements within one week expressing
dissatisfaction over the latest political situation in Nepal.
(Anil Giri can be contacted at [email protected])