Nepal’s Missing Treaties: Sugauli and Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaties

Nepal’s parliament has been searching for the original copies of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 and the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950, but to no avail.

Every parliament session, lawmakers have raised the issue, asking the government about the whereabouts of these important documents. However, they have not received a clear answer.

Former Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka had publicly stated in 2078 that the government did not have the original copies of these treaties.

Lawmaker Dhananjay Regmi from the Rastriya Swatantra Party had also raised the issue in the current parliament session, saying that he was unable to read the copy of the Sugauli Treaty.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Nishkal Rai has also questioned the government about the treaties, asking if they had been lost during the frequent relocation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Rai also asked about the status of other old treaties and agreements, saying that the government had not reviewed or renewed them despite the need to do so.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that it has 655 treaties and agreements with neighboring countries and international organizations, but only 55 of them have been completed and revised.

Rai has also questioned the government about the purchase of land for Nepalese embassies and residences in various countries, including Sri Lanka, where a plot of land was bought in 1989 but no building has been constructed yet.

Rai has asked the government to investigate how the land was sold without the government’s knowledge and to take action against those responsible.

Additionally, Rai has asked about the government’s efforts to resolve the border dispute with India, particularly in the areas of Susta, Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura.