NEW DELHI: A tour of the Hazratbal shrine, the holiest in the Valley, along with another visit to Budgam to participate in a public outreach event locally known as Block Diwas, was the highlight of the first day of the 2-day visit by 24 foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir. The visit took place amid a partial shut down of business establishments in parts of Srinagar city.
Significantly, 6 of the visiting envoys represent member states of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which continues to target India at Pakistan’s behest for alleged human rights violations in the Union territory.
At Hazratbal, often the site of violent clashes in the past, the Delhi based heads of missions were received by the Imams of the shrine and briefed about its historical significance. At Magam in the Budgam district, the envoys were briefed by local officials about development activities and "people centric schemes" currently being implemented by the government.
"The visit also provided the envoys an opportunity to interact and hear directly from the general public and their local level people’s representatives on the functioning and empowerment of grass root democratic institutions, devolution of power, developmental activities, local issues and grievance redress mechanisms," an official source told journalists in Delhi.
French and Italian ambassadors, Emmanuel Lenain and Vincenzo de Luca respectively, interacted with the locals in Budgam. Bolivian charge d'affaires Juan José Cortez told reporters in Srinagar that the situation in the Union territory was "impressive." "What we are realising is that democracy took place here. People here are happy with the political decisions the central government took," he said.
This was the third such visit by foreign envoys to the Valley since India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August, 2019. The envoys were accompanied by MEA officials including chief of protocol Nagesh Singh and joint secretary of PAI (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) division JP Singh.
The delegation included envoys of Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Bolivia, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, EU, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Bangladesh, Malawi, Eritrea, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Malaysia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. Six of these countries - Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Senegal and Malaysia - are member states of OIC.
Some parts of the Srinagar city witnessed shops and other businesses shut on the occasion, though business and life was normal in other parts of the Kashmir valley on Wednesday.
Security agencies are likely to brief the ambassadors in Jammu on Thursday. During their stay in Srinagar, official sources said, the envoys had a "fruitful" interaction with the newly elected members of the District Development Council (DDC) from all districts of the Kashmir division and from all regional and national political parties .
According to authorities, the envoys were informed by local officials that the DDC elections were conducted in a peaceful, transparent and fair manner. "They local body representatives shared the view that democracy had taken stronger and deeper roots in Kashmir, paving way for an era of peaceful and inclusive development," said a government source, adding that the diplomats were allowed to freely interact with locals.
"They also sought assistance from foreign envoys for bringing tourism and investments into Jammu and Kashmir to further job creation," said the source.