NEW DELHI, Dec 20: India is worried about reports that Pakistan and China are giving Nepal military help, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was quoted by an Indian newspaper as saying on Tuesday.

“There is a problem,” Mr Mukherjee said in New Delhi when asked for comment on alleged military assistance from Pakistan and China to Nepal to help its army crush a Maoist insurgency, The Asian Age newspaper said.

Mr Mukherjee’s remarks were believed to be the first time India has said publicly it is concerned by military help from Pakistan and China to Nepal, traditionally seen as New Delhi’s diplomatic backyard.

New Delhi was trying to settle the issue at the diplomatic level, The Asian Age newspaper quoted the minister as saying.

Analysts have suggested that India has become increasingly alarmed about growing Pakistani and Chinese influence in Nepal since India, UK and the US suspended arms supplies.

Last month, a Nepal newspaper reported China had dispatched truckloads of arms and ammunition to Nepal.

Earlier this month, Nepal’s army chief Pyar Jung Thapa visited Pakistan, where he was reported to have accepted a Pakistani offer of training for Nepalese troops.

Since assuming absolute power, King Gyanendra of Nepal has reached out to Pakistan and China to ease his country’s diplomatic and military isolation.—AFP