Govt. Signals Shift In Stand, Allows EU MPs To Visit Srinagar

Embassy in Delhi says parliamentarians are in India in their ‘personal capacity’

- Suhasini Haidar

Nearly three months after its decision on Article 370, the Union government has allowed a delegation comprising 27 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland to travel to Srinagar on Tuesday to see the situation there. The European Union (EU) Embassy in Delhi has clarified that the MEPs were in India in their “personal capacity”.

This is the first time the government has allowed such a visit to the Kashmir Valley since August 5, when hundreds of leaders were taken into custody and communication lines cut.

Meet PM, Vice-President

On Monday, the MEPs met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu. At a lunch hosted by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, they met a few mainstream Kashmiri leaders, including former Minister Muzaffar Beigh from the PDP and winners of the Block Development Council polls held in J&K last week.

They also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for dinner. PDP leader Altaf Bukhari and Usman Majeed of the Congress too interacted with the EU members.