Arnima
SRINAGAR: Envoys from as many as 16 countries have reached Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday, for a two days visit. This is the second visit by a foreign delegation in the newly carved out Union Territory since the dilution of Article 370 in August 2019.
The delegation includes US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster along with diplomats from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Norway, Maldives, South Korea, Morocco and Nigeria who would assess the ground situation in Kashmir and would also be briefed on the security situation in the Union Territory.
The officials said that the delegation would also be visiting Jammu later in the day and will meet Lt. Governor GC Murmu and the civil society members there. Jammu is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The officials stated that all the Delhi-based envoys arrived at Srinagar's technical airport by a special chartered flight. "They were received by the top officials from the Union Territory," said sources.
Meanwhile, some government sources stated that some European Union members opted out from being part of the delegation as they found some conditions mischievous. The government sources stated, "The EU members felt certain restrictions in the programme were unfounded and mischievous and were not keen on a guided tour of the region. they rather wanted to meet people and interact with them."
The Centre, on August 5 last year, had withdrawn the special status of the state and bifurcated it into Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
