India willing to review 1950 treaty

Kathmandu, Apr 30 : Foreign Affairs Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon on Wednesday said that India was willing to review the 1950 Indo-Nepal peace and friendship treaty under the present circumstances.

According to Kantipur, Menon said that the Indian government was ready to amend the 1950 treaty as per the present context so as to develop a new and high-level relationship between the two countries.

The issue of the 1950 treaty gained publicity after Maoist Chairman Prachanda stressed on the need to review the treaty in accordance to the present context in the aftermath of the Constituent Assembly polls results that established the Maoists as the largest party.

Senior Nepali dignitaries have time and again questioned some of the points of the treaty including the need to inform India on the import of arms and ammunition by the Nepal government and the need to prioritise the Indian investment in the same level with Nepali investment.

The 1950 treaty was signed by the-then Nepali Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher and the-then Indian Ambassador for Nepal Chadreshwar Narayan Singh 58 years ago.

The Nepali side has deemed clauses 5, 6 and 7 of the 10 clause 1950 treaty as unfair.

ANI