Foreign envoys conclude Jammu and Kashmir visit, briefed by top officials about security situation

L-G Sinha thanked the envoys for making this trip to see reality on the ground

A delegation of foreign envoys concluded their two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday with briefings by top officials of Army and J&K Police about the security situation in the Union Territory.

On the second day of their visit, the envoys from Asia, South America, Europe, Africa and some OIC member states had detailed meetings with J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Justice of High Court, Justice Pankaj Mittal and other senior officials in Jammu.

An official spokesperson said that while interacting with the foreign envoys, the L-G spoke on the developmental changes J&K is witnessing.

Sinha told the envoys that an ecosystem of democratic values, welfare principles and economic development has been developed in J&K and scores of measures are being taken by the government for development and prosperity of the UT.

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Replying to the queries by Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador, France and Abdoul Wahab Haidara, Ambassador, Senegal pertaining to the economic development and investment friendly reforms taken place in the UT, the L-G observed that a new Industrial Development Scheme of Rs 28,400 crore has been unveiled for attracting investment in the UT, besides creating opportunities for the youth.

L-G Sinha also thanked the envoys for making this trip to see reality on the ground.

Officials said earlier the visiting envoys were briefed by J&K police and the Army about counter-radicalization efforts, support from Pakistan army in infiltration along the LoC, Army’s role in making militants surrender, and seizure of weapons supplied by Pakistan.

They said several other issues were discussed in the meeting between the visiting envoys and police and army top brass, which included the situations after the abrogation of Article 370, peaceful holding of district development council (DDC) elections, and marked reduction in the stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir in the last 18-months.

The envoys also held interactions with some political leaders and members of the civil society in Jammu before flying back to Delhi in the evening, officials added.

The envoys from the EU, France, Malaysia, Brazil, Italy, Finland, Bangladesh, Cuba, Chile, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Senegal, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ireland, Ghana, Estonia, Bolivia, Malawi, Eritrea and Ivory Coast, who started their two-day visit to the UT on Wednesday, are assessing the development work and the security situation, especially after the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state in 2019.

Sources said outreach to the OIC members was aimed at countering Pakistan’s propaganda on Kashmir. Tight security arrangements were put in place for the visit.

This was the third group of envoys to visit J&K since the Center scrapped the region’s special status under Article 370 in August 2019. The first two groups visited J&K in January and February 2020.