Kathmandu, June 9
Against the backdrop of alleged encroachment by India along the Indo-Nepal border, a joint committee set up to resolve the border issues between the two countries, is working towards finalising a boundary map.

The technical-level committee is working towards finalisation of the map, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood told reporters here.

"We are waiting for the Nepal Government's nod to sign the boundary map (that will be signed by the two countries)," Sood said after meeting Nepalese Foreign Secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya yesterday. "We have been waiting for over a year to sign the agreement." He also informed that nearly 98 per cent of the border between Nepal and India has been demarcated. Now, we need to formally put our signature in the border map, he said.

The joint committee, headed by Surveyor General of India and Director-General of Nepal's Department of Survey, has been working in a coordinated manner towards demarcating and managing the border.

The country's Supreme Court yesterday issued a show-cause notice to the government, asking why it had failed to stop the "Indian encroachment" in Nepal's territory along the 1,808-km border of the two countries.

Advocates Santosh Basnet and Pushpa Thapaliya on Sunday filed a PIL, claiming there was an Indian encroachment on the border and demanded court intervention to order the government reclaim over 60,000 hectares of the country's territory "encroached" by India in 22 districts along the border.

The Nepal government has maintained there is no border encroachment in the area and no complaint has been received about harassment of Nepalese by Indian security forces.

Nepal's Constituent Assembly and the Maoists have sent two separate teams to Dang district to assess the situation. — PTI 

Threatening to target Iranian nationals in Pakistan, hundreds of Baloch women and children rallied in Quetta yesterday against the recent execution of five Baloch nationals by the Iranian government.

The protest was organised by the Baloch Women’s Panel and the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO-Azad), and was led by University of Balochistan Professor Dr Saba Dashtiyari. 

Chanting slogans against the Iranian government, the protesters appealed to the international community to take notice of the “grave violation of human rights” against the Baloch Sunni ethnic and religious minority.

Five Baloch were executed in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan due to their alleged involvement in the terrorist attack on a Shia mosque on May 28, which resulted in 25 people dead and 125 injured. 

Following the attack, Iran shut down its border with Pakistan, stating Jandullah, who claimed responsibility for the attack, was using Pakistani territory to stage its attacks.

Seoul, June 9
Relatives of two US journalists sentenced to 12 years hard labour in North Korea called on the reclusive state to show compassion, while US President Barack Obama’s spokesman said the two were innocent and should be freed.

Yesterday’s harsh sentence by one of the North’s top courts has deepened the chill between Washington and the North.

“We believe that the three months they have already spent under arrest with little communication with their families is long enough,” the families for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, of US media outlet Current TV, said on a statement obtained today.

The two were arrested in March near the border between North Korea and China while working on a story for the company, co-founded by former US Vice-President Al Gore. — Reuters

Islamabad, June 9
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said his government was committed to a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue and hoped India and Pakistan will soon resume Composite Dialogue to make progress on the matter.

He also said Pakistan would keep calling for the world community's intervention and hoped they "would play a role in prevention of abuse of rights of non-violent Kashmiris".

During a meeting with Kashmir Centre executive director Ghulam Nabi Fai, Gilani said his government "remained committed to seek a peaceful resolution of long-festering Kashmir dispute". Pakistan was concerned at the "human rights violations" in Kashmir an official statement quoted Gilani as saying. — PTI 

The Tehrik-e-Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud faced opposition from within insurgent ranks.Troops demolished Fazlullah's headquarters at Imamdheri with explosives, military officials said.— PTI