Foreign envoys visit Valley to gauge ‘ground realities’
Opp. parties slam Centre, question claim of ‘positive changes’ in Valley
A 24-member delegation of New Delhi-based envoys on Wednesday met wide cross sections of society during its visits to Srinagar and neighbouring district of Budgam in their quest to understand the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir in the backdrop of “positive changes” witnessed after scrapping of Article 370, the officials said.
The delegation would be leaving for winter capital Jammu early Thursday for similar engagements during the second leg of its two-day tour of the Union Territory (UT).
The visit, third since the Centre stripped former state of its special status and split it up into two UTs in August 2019, is being facilitated by ministry of external affairs (MEA) to showcase “successful” conduct of District Development Council (DDC) elections and “peaceful environment” in J&K to the international community.
A 24-member delegation of New Delhi-based envoys on Wednesday met wide cross sections of society during its visits to Srinagar and neighbouring district of Budgam in their quest to understand the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir in the backdrop of “positive changes” witnessed after scrapping of Article 370, the officials said.
The delegation would be leaving for winter capital Jammu early Thursday for similar engagements during the second leg of its two-day tour of the Union territory (UT).
The visit, third since the Centre stripped former state of its special status and split it up into two UTs in August 2019, is being facilitated by ministry of external affairs (MEA) to showcase “successful” conduct of District Development Council (DDC) elections and “peaceful environment” in J&K to the international community.
The delegation led by European Union ambassador to India and Bhutan, Ugo Astuto, and which includes diplomats from African, European, Latin American and some Asian countries drove to Magam township of Budgam straight from the Srinagar airport to interact with newly-elected DDC members, select political activists, traders, citizens and social activists.
On Wednesday, several mainstream opposition parties questioned the government’s claim of “positive changes” in J&K situation. They also reiterated that such guided tours of foreign diplomats during which they are allowed to meet only handpicked favourites cannot hide the truth. Former chief minister and PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, told reporters at Handwara in frontier Kupwara district, “Delegations come and go, but the fact remains that the situation is not good in J&K”. She added, “We’re being caged in our own homes."
Some Opposition leaders also hold the opinion that inviting foreign diplomats to visit J&K frequently could weaken India’s stand of the erstwhile state being an internal issue of the country.
Pakistan has termed the New Delhi-based diplomats visit to J&K “as part of India’s efforts to mislead the world community”.