MEA defends visit of EU team after row

RAVEESH KUMAR SAID THAT AFTER THE VISIT, THE EU MPS HAVE A FAIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GROUND SITUATION

NEWDELHI: Attacked by the opposition parties for facilitating a controversial visit of a group of European lawmakers, the ministry of external affairs on Thursday defended itself, denying that facilitating this visit to Jammu and Kashmir would internationalise the issue. It also claimed that not all the diplomatic engagements are on official invites.

The ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, in the weekly media briefing, said, “I think there is a very clear distinction between imparting an international understanding of the situation and internationalising the matter. Putting across a point of view of the country is not the same as internationalising the matter”. “Engagement with the diplomatic community is not internationalising the issue. We are supposed to share our perspective with different groups of people. We feel that this is in the larger interest,” he said.

This is the first time that the foreign ministry has spoken on the visit of MEPS; the visit has been criticised by the Opposition, including the Congress on multiple counts. Opposition parties have complained that the government has allowed 23 foreign lawmakers visit J&K but stopped Indian politicians from doing so. They have also raised questions about the organiser of the visit and argued that the whole thing would end up internationalising the Kashmir issue.

The EU MPS addressed a news conference in the valley on Wednesday during which they condemned the terror attack in which six migrant labourers were killed and praised the Narendra Modi government for its efforts in fighting terrorism. The EU has distanced itself from the visit saying the MPS were in India in their private capacity.

Asked if more such delegations could be allowed in J&K in the future, Raveesh Kumar said the “intent, content (of the delegation) as well as the ground situation (in the region)” would be weighed by the centre before considering any such visit.

Asserting that it is MEA’S mandate to engage with people from different backgrounds and countries irrespective of who has invited them, he said, “The MPS, belonging to different spectrums of European political parties, expressed keen desire to understand how terrorism is affecting India and how it is a challenge for the country. Meetings were accordingly facilitated...they very clearly reflected that they got some understanding about the ground situation.”