Foreign delegates of 24 countries visited Kashmir to assess the situation on the ground. These envoys from countries like Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Ghana, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Spain, Belgium, Malaysia, France, Ireland, EU, Portugal, Finland, Malawi, Eritrea, Cote d’Ivoire, Kyrgyzstan etc. In the entire valley, all the shops were closed to maintain the security of the place.
They arrived in Kashmir on Wednesday and are here for the two-day visit. They were welcomed in a traditional Kashmiri style.
They were informed about the Panchayati Raj and grievance redressal where the authorities visit the people at their doorstep. They even interacted with the locals over at the Magam block of Budgam district. This aims to showcase the efforts put in by the Centre in ensuring democracy at the lower level amidst the DCC election held last year.
On the second day of this visit, they will meet the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at Jammu aside from meeting the DCC members. Besides that, GOC-15 Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment will brief them about the threat by the Pakistani militants in the form of cross border terrorism.
This is the third time visit of these envoys to the Union Territory of Jammu ad Kashmir. It comes days after 4G data has been restored. Last year, 17 diplomats visited the valley from the countries like the US, Vietnam, South Korea, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Niger, Nigeria, Morocco, Guyana, Argentina, Philippines, Norway, Maldives, Fiji, Togo, Bangladesh and Peru.
In 2019, International Institue for Non-Aligned Studies, a think tank based in Delhi, organised the visit for 2 days where 23 members of European Union came. This took place three months after the abrogation of Article 370.
These visits are aimed at debunking and curbing the propaganda created by Pakistan throughout the world. Also with this, they will be able to get a better perspective on how terrorism affects India and Kashmir and the numerous times Pakistan has violated the ceasefire since 1947.
