Diplomats from 25 countries including Germany, Canada, France and Afghanistan arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. The delegation arrived six months after the removal of Article 370 to take stock of the ground situation. On the first day, all the members came to visit Dal Lake in Srinagar.
Delegations, which reached Kashmir on Wednesday, included representatives from Afghanistan, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Kyrgyz Republic, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Rwanda, Slovak Republic, Tajikistan, Uganda and Uzbekistan. According to sources, Germany’s ambassador Walter J. Lindner is also involved.
All the delegations will meet the fruit growers of North Kashmir. They will also meet social groups, media and local politicians. The Indian Army will inform them about the security situation in the valley and will also tell about the promotion of terror in the new Union Territories at the instigation of Pakistan.
The next day the delegates will meet the Deputy Governor GC Murmu in Jammu. Here they can also meet the civil society group. Last month, a 15-member delegation led by the US Ambassador visited Kashmir. According to officials, this time diplomats from the Gulf countries along with the European Union have reached Jammu and Kashmir.
In the last visit, the European delegation refused to go to Kashmir. They were not in favor of a guided tour. EU diplomats wanted to meet elected leaders of their own accord, so they would go to Kashmir later. Diplomats from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Norway, Maldives, South Korea, Morocco, Nigeria and other countries including US Ambassador Kenneth Juster had visited Kashmir.
The foreign delegation, who arrived on a two-day visit to Kashmir last month, was taken to the 15 Corps headquarters. Army officials informed the diplomats about the situation in Kashmir. The delegation also met social activists, journalists, as well as politician Altaf Bukhari. Eight leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also arrived to meet the diplomats.
India removed Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August last year. After this, Pakistan has raised the issue in foreign forums. However, that has not had success so far. A team of 25 members of the European Union visited Jammu and Kashmir in October. During this time, they took information about the situation from the local people and security forces.
The European Parliament recently suspended voting on a joint resolution brought against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Article 370 until March.
