New Delhi, Apr 25: Renegotiation of the 58-year-old Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty will not be an issue for India, says Prime Minister’s special envoy Shyam Saran.

Nepal’s Maoist chief Prachanda has strongly advocated abrogation of the 1950 treaty. “Our past policy towards the 1950 treaty remains unchanged, we want to scrap that treaty and replace it with a new one in the changed context,” the 54-year-old former school teacher said in Kathmandu. Saran, PM’s special envoy on the Indo-US nuclear deal and Climate Change, told a TV channel that renegotiation of the pact “is not an issue” as it was agreed to with the Nepalese government in 2001.

“We have no reservations if this item is put back on the bilateral agenda,” Saran, former Ambassador to Nepal, said noting that one round of talks between foreign secretaries of the two countries had been held after the 2001 proposal.

Prachanda had said that the incoming Maoists-led government plans to scrap the Treaty and have a fresh pact reflecting new realties besides reviewing all other bilateral agreements.

—PTI

editor@expressindia.com