Co-chair of the Eminent Person Group on Nepal India relations Bhagat Singh Koshyari has claimed that India is ready to abrogate the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty.

“We are ready to throw the treaty in Kali River,” said Koshyari, the former chief minister of the Indian state of Uttarakhand, during an interaction organised by the Nepal Policy Research Academy in the Capital on Friday. 

“India and Nepal do not have any interest behind to review the treaty,” he said, a day after the third meeting of the EPG that concluded on Thursday.

The Nepali side, which has been pushing for a review of the treaty, said that India was positive on replacing the old treaty with a new one.

“India is ready for any options,” Koshyari said, adding that the Indian side had already communicated that to the Nepali side to do serious homework on treaty revision during the third meeting. 

“The Nepali side needs to do a deeper study on what kind of treaty it wants,” he said, assuring that India would not impose any of its interest on the new treaty. 

On Extradition Treaty between Nepal and India, Koshyari suggested some new challenges like cyber crime should be included. 

“It’s up to the two countries what kind of provisions they need,” he said.