NEW DELHI: China, after having significantly expanded its footprint in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is now making a conscious effort to influence foreign policy in Nepal by getting its government to push back Tibetans wanting to cross over to Dharamsala through the Himalayan Kingdom, and also seeking a ban on the Free Tibet movement in Nepal.
In what does not augur well for New Delhi, which has spared no effort to maintain a cordial relationship with Nepal given its geo-strategic significance, Beijing has found a welcome ally in Nepalese deputy prime minister and home minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara , a Maoist considered very close to the Chinese regime. Under Mahara, the Tibetan movement has been hugely restricted, and the Nepalese troops on the China border have taken to pushing back Tibetans headed for Dharamsala through the Nepal route.
"It has come to our notice that Tibetans are not being allowed to cross over to Nepal for the last 2-3 months for onward travel to India," a senior intelligence official told ET. This, the official explained, was in deference to standing instructions from Mahara to discourage anti-China activism and protests in Nepal.
Cashing in on the currently supportive stance of the Nepalese government, the new Chinese envoy in Kathmandu, Yang Houlan, wasted no time to seek curbs on the Free Tibet movement protests in the Himalayan Kingdom. In a meeting with Mahara in Kathmandu on Monday, Yang expressed worries that Tibetan exiles in Nepal could resort to 'anti-China' protests during the upcoming anniversary celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
China is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of CCP on July 1.
Read more at The Economic Times
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