New Delhi: The visit of the 16 international envoys who arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday has been facilitated by the central government and criticism of it being a "guided tour" is unfounded, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The group includes US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster. This is the first such visit by diplomats since the abrogation of the erstwhile state's special status in August last year.
Political parties in the former state as well as the Congress had earlier criticised the BJP for bringing in handpicked delegates to scrutinise the situation in the Valley, describing it as "a guided tour for individuals who toe the government's line".
At the weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said criticism that this is a guided tour was unfounded. A delegation of 23 MPs from the European Union (EU) was earlier taken on a two-day visit to assess the situation in the Union Territory by the International Institute for Nonaligned Studies, a Delhi-based think tank. The government had later distanced itself from the visit, with Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy informing Parliament that the parliamentarians were on a "private visit".
Kumar said the envoys visited several political leaders, met security officials and members of civil society, and interacted with local journalists.
“The first meeting was with security officials to get a sense of security situation in J&K and also the threat posed by terrorism in maintaining peace,” said Kumar. “The objective of the visit was for the envoys to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation.”
The visit was organised considering prevailing situation, he said.
Asked about the political leaders who met the group, Kumar said the visit by the envoys is not yet over.
Envoys from the European Union (EU) wanted to visit Kashmir in a group and the government did not extend an invite to all, said Kumar. He said a similar visit, including EU envoys, can be organised in the future.
The Delhi-based envoys arrived in Srinagar by a special chartered flight at the city’s technical airport where they were received by the top officials from the newly carved out Union Territory. The diplomats, on a two-day visit, have meetings scheduled in Jammu later in the day.
Besides the US, the delegation includes diplomats from Vietnam, South Korea, Niger, Nigeria, Morocco, Guyana, Argentina, Philippines, Norway, Maldives, Fiji, Togo, Bangladesh and Peru.
Sources said the envoys of several countries had requested the government for a visit to Kashmir to get a first-hand account of the situation prevailing in the Valley following the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 in August.
The EU countries, however, are understood to have conveyed that they will visit the Union Territory on a different date and are also believed to have stressed on meeting three former chief ministers — Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — who are in detention. Government sources said these envoys will undertake a visit at a later date.
Quoting government sources, a report stated that some EU Ambassadors didn't want to be part of the group of envoys visiting Kashmir as they felt "certain restrictions in the programme were unfounded and mischievous". Earlier it was reported that certain European envoys were not keen on a "guided tour" of the region and rather wanted to meet the people and interact with them.
'Visit an attempt to normalise govt clampdown'
The National Conference (NC) on Thursday said it was "disappointed" with the way the government brought envoys from various countries to "endorse" its "claims of normalcy", while the PDP said the move was an attempt to “normalise its clampdown”.
The NC alleged that the envoys have been brought to the Valley on a "guided tour", where access has been limited to "handpicked individuals who toe the government line".
The Congress accused the government of adopting double standards by resorting to "guided tours" for foreign envoys, but not allowing Indian politicians to go there.
"The government adopting double standards by allowing foreign envoys to visit J&K, but not Indian politicians," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said at a press conference. "We demand that the government allows unfettered access to J&K to all politicians and not resort to guided tours for envoys," he said. The Congress wants meaningful political activities in J-K, Ramesh said.
(With PTI inputs)
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