27 member European Union delegation land in Srinagar

Srinagar: The European Union delegation comprising 27 MPs has landed in Srinagar and their assessment of the situation in Kashmir will begin shortly.

In what seems to be a diplomatic narrative to counter Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir situation, the government has allowed a 27-member European Union Parliamentary delegation to visit the Valley on Tuesday.

This will be the first foreign delegation visit to Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August. While the government has maintained its narrative on scrapping Article 370, it wants to give a foreign delegation the opportunity to see the situation in Kashmir themselves. The delegation will talk to locals in Jammu and Kashmir and ask them about their daily experience since the abrogation of Article 370.

With the visit, the government expects to lose some heat as it is being criticised by a number of foreign leaders, including US lawmakers, for imposing restrictions on locals in Kashmir. Ahead of the visit, the 27-member EU delegation also met with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who briefed them about the situation in Kashmir while rejecting false propaganda spread by Pakistan.