KATHMANDU, May 16: Sajha Party has asked the government to open only specific border points between Nepal and India and erect barbed wire fences along the rest of the border without putting the cross-border movement of people living in the bordering areas in any difficulty.
Issuing a press statement on Friday, Sajha Party said it is the conclusion of the Sajha Party that regulating the border by making use of passport, citizenship or other identity cards and other technologies is in the long-term interest of both Nepal and India.
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The party has urged the government to hold talks with India on this matter at diplomatic and political level meetings keeping in view the gravity of the situation. "In case there is going to be delay in such talks, we urge the Government of Nepal to unilaterally start erecting barbed-wire fences in border areas that are free of disputes," it said while also calling on the government to take the initiative in building a national consensus on this matter in which the major political parties have hitherto not given any institutional attention to.
The party said although the open border between the two countries had been looked at as a model of close relations between the two countries since ages, this arrangement has lately affected both the countries in a number of different ways. "However, lately the Sajha Party has reached a conclusion that in view of the developmental aspirations of both the countries, the challenges to the national security, management of economy and implementation of social security programs, the open and unregulated border is not in the interest of either of the neighbours," the party's Spokesperson Surya Raj Acharya said in a statement.
The party also said that the technical works regarding border determination have not been a priority for the two countries because of the concept of open border. "In recent times, India has discarded the reality of the border proven by the historic documents and maps to brazenly take over Nepali territory in Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani regions The Sajha Party understands that the recent opening of the road to China through Lipulekh by India is the latest culmination of its brash activities," he said.
While stating that the Indian side has also repeatedly stated that the misuse of the open border has undermined its national security, the party said that there are numerous complications on national security due to the open border such as cross-border theft, robberies, and smuggling. "It is an important duty for any sovereign nation to maintain documentation about how many of its nationals are overseas and how many of foreign nationals are residing within its territory and for what purpose. These information are sorely lacking as the country tries to manage the Covid-19 crisis," the party further said in the statement.
