India presses Nepal on extradition treaty

KATHMANDU, Jan 20: India has urged Nepal to finalize the Bilateral Extradition Treaty and the Agreement on the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters at the earliest possible.



P Chidambaram, Indian home minister, asked this with visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar during their meeting in New Delhi. [break]



"The Indian home minister stressed finalization of the extradition treaty and the mutual legal assistance agreement at the earliest," said Gachchhadar over phone from New Delhi on Thursday.



Though the home secretaries of both the countries have already signed the both the documents, they are awaiting finalization at the political level of both the countries. Though India has been pushing Nepal for an early finalization of the treaty and the agreement, Nepal´s successive governments have hesitated from signing the documents, fearing possible political controversy.



In response, Gachahhdar told his Indian counterpart that Nepal would sign the documents by creating favorable political environment.



During the meeting, the Indian home minister expressed India´s readiness to help Nepal to strengthen its security to combat cross border crime, according to Gachchhadar.



Gachchhadar is currently on a four-day visit of India. He is meeting various Indian politicians Friday.

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