By TRN Online, Kathmandu, June 26: The Standing Committee meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) today focused on the agenda relating to border encroachment.

Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, also a member of the Standing Committee, talked about events related to encroachment of Nepali territory by India and the efforts to resolve issues through dialogue, according to NCP spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha who informed the media after today's meeting was over.

Minister Gyawali shared in the meeting that India had shown no positive response as yet to Nepal's diplomatic efforts so that India returns Nepali territory of Kalapani area which the southern neighbour has encroached, said NCP spokesperson Shrestha.     

The Foreign Minister made it clear in the meeting that China has not encroached any part of Nepali territory and the media report about encroachment of Nepali territory by China was entirely baseless and fabricated, according to Shrestha.

"India is even reluctant to receive the report of the EPG which was formed by both the countries and consisted of representative experts from both the neighbours," NCP spokesperson Shrestha quoted Minister Gyawali as saying.

He said that most standing committee members who spoke in the meeting lauded the national unity seen in the course of publication of updated map of the country that includes encroached area of Kalapani in the western part of Nepal and the constitutional recognition of the map. The members underscored the need to have similar unity in issues related to getting back the other encroached land such as Susta.

18 Standing Committee members of the party expressed their views in today's meeting.

Responding to the query as to why one of the party chairmen and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli remained absent in the meeting, the NCP spokesperson said that the meeting was informed about this by party general secretary Bishnu Paudel who told the meeting that the PM wanted the meeting to continue although he was too busy to attend today's meeting.

The meeting will continue tomorrow, NCP spokesperson Shrestha said.