Foreign envoys to visit Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow: All you need to know

This will be the third visit of envoys from various countries, including the European Union, since the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019.

A batch of foreign envoys from Europe and Africa will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to meet top officials and politicians in the Union territory to witness the government’s efforts to restore normalcy in the Valley after it revoked the erstwhile state’s special status and split it into two Union territories.

An Indian paramilitary soldier patrols through a closed market in Srinagar. (AP)

The visit helmed by the ministry of external affairs will include a group of ambassadors and senior diplomats, mainly from European countries, to the Kashmir Valley and Jammu. This is the third such visit conducted by India for foreign envoys and the international community to assess the ground situation following the revocation of the region’s special status in 2019.

Here is everything you need to know about the visit by foreign envoys:

• MEA has said that it is taking a group of ambassadors and senior diplomats, mainly from European countries.
• This will be the third visit of envoys from various countries, including the European Union, since the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019.
• The envoys are expected to be in the Kashmir Valley on February 17, before traveling to Jammu on February 18. The group of about 20 envoys and senior diplomats are expected to visit Hazratbal shrine, Dal Lake and a college in Badgam on the outskirts of Srinagar.
• Akin to the previous visits, the third batch is expected to interact with grassroots political leaders, members of civil society groups and businessmen to assess the ground situation.

• India has previously taken two batches of foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir in January and February 2020 but the initiative by the government was halted due to coronavirus disease outbreak globally and the subsequent travel restrictions.
• Pakistan has slammed India's initiative and dubbed it as a "guided tour" and "smokescreen". In a statement issued in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Office described the planned visit by the diplomats as part of India’s efforts to “mislead the world community”.
• India has described such moves by Pakistan as interference in its internal affairs and rejected them repeatedly.
• The visit comes less than two weeks after the government restored 4G mobile internet services in the Union territory. The services were snapped and other restrictions were imposed when the government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019.