Nepali PM Balen Shah had raised up the issue of border with India, including Lipulekh. NEW DELHI: Nepal has apparently lost the decades-old original of the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, a document that largely defined the Himalayan nation's boundaries with British India, its foreign minister Shisir Khanal told Parliament on Monday.

“The Government of Nepal does not have clear information on whether we possess the official treaty documents. There are records showing that some documents related to certain treaties are kept at the National Archives.

But we do not have clear information as to whether those are the actual official treaties,” Khanal said. He said Nepal does have documents related to the 1816 Sugauli Treaty and the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with India.

The disclosure comes amid renewed tensions over the Nepal-India border after India and China agreed to reopen the Lipulekh trade route. Nepal claims Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as its territories, while India maintains that they are part of its territory.

This becomes significant, as the dispute resurfaced recently after Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah said Kathmandu had raised with India concerns over alleged encroachment, including in Lipulekh. Shah said both sides had agreed to examine the issue through historians, surveyors and territorial experts and resolve it through diplomatic talks.

He also called for the UK to be involved, citing its role in shaping the region's borders during the colonial era. Shah said Nepal had found that “not only had India encroached on Nepal's land, but Nepal had also encroached on India's land in multiple places.”

India rejected any role for third parties, with MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal having said “there is no role for any third parties in a bilateral matter between India and Nepal.” He said nearly 98% of the boundary had been demarcated, with remaining issues including stretches affected by the shifting Gandak River and cross-border occupation or encroachment on no-man's land.

India has also rejected Nepal's claims over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as “neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence.” The issue of missing treaty documents has been around for years.

In 2016, when the Eminent Persons’ Group on Nepal-India Relations began discussions on reviewing or replacing the 1950 treaty, Nepal tried to locate the original but failed to find it. The government subsequently provided the Bhekh Bahadur Thapa-led committee with another copy of the treaty.