15 foreign envoys to visit Kashmir Valley
There is also a possibility that some envoys from Middle-East countries could also be part of the group.
New Delhi: A delegation of 15 foreign envoys will visit the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday and Friday as part of the NDA Government’s outreach on the matter but envoys belonging to European Union (EU) countries will not be part of the group for several reasons and will be taken later as a single group, government sources confirmed late on Wednesday evening.
The 15 countries are expected to include some in Africa and Latin America.
There is also a possibility that some envoys from Middle-East countries could also be part of the group.
The 15-member delegation is being taken to J&K to “see first-hand the efforts being made by the government to bring the situation to normal”, sources said.
Government sources said the EU envoys wanted to visit as part of one group which was not possible since the government wanted to invite a delegation of foreign envoys from various regions in the world.
The government apparently wanted to invite a few EU envoys as part of the 15-member delegation that will reach J&K on Thursday but that was apparently not acceptable to the EU countries. Some of the EU envoys also apparently told the MEA that they had not received instructions from their respective capitals at such “short notice”.
Government sources claimed media reports that the EU countries did not want to be part of a “guided tour” or a “restricted programme” were “unfounded and mischievous”.
It may be noted that it has been over five months now that India in early August last year revoked Article 370 that had granted autonomy to J&K besides splitting the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.