The second set of foreign envoys based out of New Delhi are on a visit to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. However, the Russian envoy had declined the invitation.
The Russian envoy is reported to have said that Russia has constantly supported the Indian position and did not feel the need to visit the territory as it is an internal matter of the country. He also added that only those who doubted India’s position on the issue should visit and see the ground realities for themselves.
This is the second set of foreign envoys visiting the Union Territory to assess the ground realities. A total of 25 are a part of the convoy.
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They will also be meeting a cross section of the society which includes businessmen and civil society members amongst others. They are on a two day visit and will be visiting Srinagar, Baramullah and Jammu.
The Ministry of External Affairs has organized this visit amidst high security in Srinagar. The visit is being coordinated by Secretary (West) Vikas Swarup.
Amongst the envoys who are visiting, the European Union who had earlier rejected the invite, has now accepted the invitation and is visiting with the envoys from Canada, France and Afghanistan amongst others. It has a broad geographical representation from nations such as Namibia to New Zealand and Poland.
The union government had clamped down on certain rights in the former state after its bifurcation and withdrawal of the special status on August 5, 2019.