Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has said he would ask India to withdraw its forces from the Kalapani area, shown on the fringes of Uttarakhand as part of Indian territory in a map Delhi had released earlier this month.

“Our patriotic government will not allow anybody to encroach on even an inch of Nepal’s territory. India should withdraw its security forces from the Kalapani area,” a press release issued by Oli’s private secretariat quoted him as saying.

India had earlier this month released fresh maps of the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and the map of India depicting these UTs.

On November 6, the Nepal government had said media reports had drawn its attention to the Kalapani area being included in the new map.

Oli said his government would take the initiative to vacate Indian troops from the disputed Kalapani region but emphasised that his administration wanted to resolve the issue through diplomacy.