NEW DELHI – Nearly 30 Euro MPs, drawn mainly from extreme right-wingparties, will on Tuesday be the first international delegation to visitIndia-occupied Kashmir since authorities imposed a security clampdown inAugust to back the ending of the region’s autonomy.
While the Indian government backs the visit, the European parliament andEuropean Union hierarchy have not been involved, raising some diplomaticdoubts.
Several European embassies in New Delhi were unaware of the visit untilMonday.
Muslim-majority occupied Kashmir, in the grip of an uprising for 30 years,has been in the international spotlight since the New Delhi government’smove to tighten its grip on the Himalayan region.
“The delegation of MEPs is not on an official visit in India and came hereat the invitation of a non-government group,” said an EU official in India,speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We are not organising any of their meetings.”
The group is dominated by right-wing deputies from Poland, France andBritain. They met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
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They are due to go to occupied Kashmir on Tuesday and return on Wednesdayfrom the visit which the Indian government said aims to give deputies “abetter understanding of the cultural and religious diversity of the regionof Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”.
Fearing unrest, the government cut telephone and internet lines and imposeda near curfew in many parts after the decades-old autonomy was ended.
The measures were recently eased, with telephone lines restored, but thepopulation still has no internet.
Thierry Mariani, a Euro MP for France’s far-right National Rally, told AFP“we are going to see the situation in Kashmir, at least what they want toshow us”. – APP/AFP
