Kathmandu: The Nepal government on Wednesday insisted that the ‘Kalapani’ area situated in the country's far-west lies within its territory, days after India released new political maps reportedly showing the region as part of its jurisdiction.
India on Saturday had released fresh political maps depicting the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In these maps, Pak-occupied Kashmir areas are shown to be part of the newly created Union Territory of Ladakh.
The Nepal government said media reports had drawn its attention to the inclusion of Kalapani in Indian territory.
The Indian embassy officials were not immediately available for comment. A report in the local media said Kalapani was a part of the Darchula district of Nepal while the Indian map shows it to be a part of Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand.
When contacted, under-secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Suresh Adhikari said the ministry was trying to ascertain the facts.
A Director at the Department of Land Measurement of Nepal Government Kamal Ghimire said the map was published by government of India for its internal use and not for international border demarcation.
